30 May, 2015
US Economy Contracted In First Quarter
By Andre Damon
The US economy shrank at an annual rate of 0.7 percent in the first three months of this year, the Commerce Department said Friday. The new figures mark a sharp downward revision compared with the already anemic 0.2 percent first-quarter growth rate estimated by the Commerce Department in April, and an even bigger slide from the previous quarter, which saw a growth of 2.2 percent
Massive Die-Out Of Saiga Antelopes In Central Asia
By Marianne de Nazareth
It's a shocking number, for those who are concerned about species loss. News is out that more than 120,000 saiga antelope, a mind boggling figure, have been confirmed dead in central Kazakhstan, representing more than a third of the global population. This is a major blow for conservation efforts, given that saigas have in the past ten years, only just started to recover from a global population size of less than 50,000 animals following a 95% crash in numbers
Let’s End Chronic Hunger
By Jomo Kwame Sundaram
The latest State of World Food Insecurity (SOFI) report for 2015 by the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Food Programme and International Fund for Agricultural Development estimates almost 795 million people — one in nine people worldwide — remain chronically hungry
Oil Giants Brush Up Climate Credentials Ahead Of Paris Summit
By Ed King
Eight of the world’s top oil and gas producers have offered an intriguing glimpse into a future of rusting oil rigs and gleaming solar panels. A vision of old and new energy sources, on what looks like a dried out seabed, dominate the front page of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) website, a project launched by BG Group, BP, Eni, Pemex, Saudi Aramco, Shell, Sinopec and Total
13 Giants Control 40% Of World’s Most Valuable Fisheries
But Don’t Assume Responsibility Of Marine Ecosystems
By Countercurrents.org
Just thirteen giant corporations control 19-40% of the largest and most valuable stocks and 11-16% of the global marine catch, finds a new research. This handful of corporations represents 0.5% of 2250 registered fishing and aquaculture companies worldwide
Where Would Jesus Live?
By David Swanson
If Jesus lived in Galilee in recent decades he would live in a world alive with Palestinian traditions clinging to a long-rooted history but struggling through the aftermath of the never-ended ethnic-cleansing operation that spiked in 1948
ISIS Is The Child Of Chaos, Not Religion
By Justin Podur
What explains the shocking, video-recorded horrors of ISIS? The right-wing New Atheists look for passages in scriptures that are used to justify the crimes; the criminals themselves claim to be acting in the name of religion. But people who genuinely want to understand would do better to look to other parts of the world where long-running conflicts have led to social collapse
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn: Modern American Revolutionary Book Review
By Staughton Lynd
A number of radical women who espoused anarchism or anarcho-syndicalism when they were young were drawn in later life to uncritical support of international Communism. Alexandra Kollontai, Lucy Parsons, and Dolores Ibarruri (“La Pasionaria”) come to mind. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn can be described in the same way. The “rebel girl” celebrated by Joe Hill’s song, who was the most conspicuous woman among the prominent personalities of the IWW, became a member of the United States Communist Party in 1937 and supported it publicly until her death
Terror Birds or Terror Beings?
By Mickey Z.
Terror bird? Tell that to the 23 million chickens killed in the United States for food (sic) every single day. That's 269 dead chickens per second -- brutally slaughtered after a short, nightmarish life imposed upon them by a taxpayer subsidized industry responsible for systematically destroying our landbase and threatening all life on earth. To the vast majority of inhabitants of this planet, we are terror beings
Poets' Talk
With Gary Corseri and José M. Tirado
A conversation between American writer Gary Corseri and Puertorican poet and political writer José M. Tirado
Discrimination In Employment Against Muslims In India
By Abdul Majid Zargar
The denial of Job to a Muslim MBA graduate by a leading Indian Diamond export firm has created some ripples in the Indian media & political class .What is interesting to note is that the operations of this firm are spread over to seventy five countries in the world and earns more than 50% of its profits from Muslim Countries but is not inclined to employ a Muslim. The discrimination against Muslims in the so-called secular India is nothing new to warrant any surprise. It has always been a blot on India’s much touted secular record since inception
The Cancerous Faces of Indian Tobacco
By Sazzad Hussain
Supreme Court of India banned sale of tobacco products in plastic pouches from 1st March 2011. It also asked for the alternative material for packaging them. Some abortive attempts by authorities at the district level failed to succeed because of non-cooperation by the public in not using the plastic/polythene bags. Similarly there should be a ban on printing of photos of Indian men on the tobacco products. Public awareness is the key in addressing this duel challenge of tobacco and the sale of its products in plastic
Will Countries 'Walk The Talk' To End The Tobacco Epidemic?
By Bobby Ramakant
Despite unprecedented pressure from tobacco industry to delay, dilute or thwart progress on a range of tobacco control measures globally, considerable achievements have been made by governments over the past years to protect public health. The global tobacco treaty, which was the first corporate-accountability and public health internationally binding treaty of the World Health Organization (WHO), is one major leap forward to move the world towards ending game of tobacco
29 May, 2015
Rohingya Refugees Abused And Killed In Camps In Malaysia/Thailand
By John Roberts
As delegates from 19 countries gather today in Bangkok for a meeting on “irregular migration in the Indian Ocean,” more evidence has emerged of the horrors facing thousands of Bangladeshis and Rohingya Muslims from Burma fleeing persecution and poverty. All of the countries attending the meeting, in one way or another, bear responsibility for their plight
Beyond The Middle East: The Rohingya Genocide
By Ramzy Baroud
The whole Southeast Asian region is culpable. They have ignored the plight of the Rohingya for years. While tens of thousands of Rohingya are being ethnically cleansed, having their villages torched, forced into concentration camps and some into slavery, Burma is being celebrated by various western and Asian powers as a success story of a military junta-turned democracy
Everest Region May Experience 99% Glacier Loss
By Countercurrents
With continued temperature rise, glacier volume in the Everest region could be reduced between 70% and 99% by 2100. If greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions continue to rise, glaciers in the Everest region of the Himalayas could experience dramatic change in the decades to come. A team of researchers in Nepal, France and the Netherlands have found Everest glaciers could be very sensitive to future warming, and that sustained ice loss through the 21st century is likely
US Rebukes Israel While Showering It With Arms And Favors
By Jonathan Cook
The lesson drawn by Netanyahu should be clear. Obama may signal verbally his disquiet with the current Israeli government, but he is not about to exact any real price from Israel, even as it shifts ever further to the fanatical right
"Lobbying, Capitalism And The State"
By Jon Kofas
Businesses and foreign governments create coffers and slush funds to elect or reelect politicians, or at least influence their voting on specific issues or to prevent measures from passing because they would cut into their profits. Through political action committees and through loopholes and favors from politicians, lobbyists provide the financing and media influence politicians need to win or stay in office. Most of this is legal, some of it is not and we do not know to what degree, but the lobbying system as a whole is a reflection of how the political economy operates. Lobbying is built into the capitalist system to further strengthen and concentrate capital and maintain the social order
Hil[l]arious US Politics: What We Now Know?
By Farooque Chowdhury
A lot about US politics is unknown to ordinary citizens. It’s difficult to understand by commoners. A lot of connections, custom, cast inside and outside of the political arena there make the politics complex to comprehend
Until the Rulers Obey: Voices From Latin American Social Movements
Book Review By Staughton Lynd
The title of this book is drawn from the Zapatistas’ Second Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle: “We will resist until the rulers govern obediently.” The underlying principle is, in Spanish, “mandar obediciendo”: to govern in obedience
Book Review: “Selling Students Short” By Richard Hil –
Neoliberal Corruption Of Corporatised Australian Universities
By Dr Gideon Polya
Australian sociologist and academic Dr Richard Hil's “Selling students short” is a devastating account of how 1.3 million Australian university students ( 25% full fee-paying students from overseas) are being grossly deceived, manipulated and ripped off by dishonest, mendacious, anti-intellectual, neoliberal Lib-Lab (Coalition and Labor Right) governments with the active complicity of money-obsessed university bosses who can be seen as grossly over-paid and parasitic refugees from scholarship
Derecognition Of Ambedkar – Periyar Study Circle In IIT Madras Undemocratic
By Ambedkar – Periyar Study Circle
We, Ambedkar – Periyar Study Circle (APSC), an independent student body of IIT Madras (IITM) has been derecognized by the Dean of Students (DoS), on 22.05.2015 stating that we have misused the privileges given by IITM. Action against the Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle is undemocratic and unilateral against the interest of common mass for whom the Institute itself is indebted; hence we are not accepting this decision taken by the Institute
Remembering Aruna Shanbaug
By Akshi Chawla
One wonders if Sohanlal had attacked Aruna today, would she have received a better deal, at least in terms of legal justice, or would he have still gotten away. One also wonders, reluctantly, had the sexual assault not left her in the vegetative state, would she have received a similar degree of care and support as a victim of sexual violence, as she otherwise did? Or even more reluctantly, had Aruna not survived the attack and succumbed that very night in 1973, would we still remember her story?
Sri Lanka: Deterioration Of The Legal Intellect (8): Institutions For
Administration Of Justice Are Far More Important Than The Military
By Basil Fernando
The rape and murder of a 17-year-old schoolgirl two weeks ago, has given rise to the biggest protest seen in North in recent times. The police have announced that 9 persons have been arrested and are been investigated. DNA samples have been taken and sent for examination
People’s Countdown To Right Of Shelter Continues
By National Alliance of People’s Movements
The people of Mandala – Mankhurd are bravely leading the struggle of India’s homeless, marginalized and oppressed for the fourth continuous day as they demand what is rightfully theirs. While at the same time there is no response from the government to the demands, instead the Satyagrahis facing harassment by police
27 May, 2015
Stop Military Intervention In Iraq Under Any Pretext
By International Anti-Occupation Network
After decades of sanctions, war and occupation, attempts to dominate and control Iraq continue. The destruction of the country´s infrastructure, its army and its middle class has left a failed state that leaves its people in social misery and chaos. This has resulted in the collapse of the health and education systems, the weakening of the social fabric and the collective memory and national identity of the Iraqi people. Foreign plans to divide Iraq threaten its very existence as a state
Washington’s Coup In Macedonia Was Blocked
By Thierry Meyssan
Macedonia has just neutralised an armed group whose sponsors had been under surveillance for at least eight months. By doing so, it has prevented a new attempt at a coup d’État, planned by Washington for the 17th of May. The aim was to spread the chaos already infecting Ukraine into Macedonia in order to stall the passage of a Russian gas pipeline to the European Union
Why Would Bloomberg News Completely Disappear The February, 2014 Ukraine Coup?
By Robert Barsocchini
Bloomberg says in a post today that the “confrontation between Russia and the US” over Ukraine was “provok[ed]” by Putin’s annexation of Crimea
Taking Responsibility For Drone Killings- President Obama And The Fog Of War
By Brian Terrell
Perhaps one day President Obama will be held responsible for these murders. In the meantime, the responsibility that he and his administration shirks belongs to all of us. He cannot hide behind a fog of war and neither can we
Capitalism Could Kill All Life On Earth
By The Daily Take Team, the Thom Hartmann Program
It's time for a New Green Deal – we need to stop directly and indirectly subsidizing the fossil fuel industry and we need to invest in a large-scale deployment of current clean energy technologies – one that will create permanent, sustainable jobs, and protect the Earth for future generations
Did Market Leninism Win The Cold War?
By John Feffer
The ongoing convulsions of geopolitics are throwing up all manner of new hybrids. Many of these market authoritarian regimes are deeply troubling, the offspring of a marriage of the less savory aspects of collectivism and capitalism. But they are also potent reminders that, because we are not the slaves of history, we can transform our putatively triumphant liberalism, with all its manifold defects of corruption, inequality, and unsustainability, into something more optimal for both human beings and the planet. The bats did it, the whales did it, and even though it's not inevitable, we humans can do it, too
EU’s Military Strategy To Deepen Mediterranean Tragedies
By Nizar Visram
A new theater is unfolding with the US and Saudi Arabia embarking on a new battlefront in Yemen. This is bound to lead to a great number of refugees seeking asylum. Meanwhile, as increasing number of distressed citizens seek sanctuary in Europe, the EU is converting the Mediterranean into a graveyard, hoping that this will serve as deterrent to others
Local History Of The Industrial Workers Of The World
By Andy Piascik
A Shoeleather History of the Wobblies: Stories of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in Connecticut by Steve Thornton (2013); 151 pages- Reviewed by Andy Piascik
The Fall And Rise Of The West's Death Squad Strategy
By Dan Glazebrook
Losing ground in Yemen, in Libya, in Egypt and in Syria, the West’s whole strategy for using armed Salafists as tools of destabilisation had been starting to unravel. The direct interventions in Syria, Yemen and soon Libya, then, are nothing but a means of propping them up - and last Friday's bombings show they are already paying dividends
Arab Leaders And Insanity Of Sectarian Warfare
By Mahboob A. Khawaja
The Arab masses urgently need transformational leaders who can think rationally out of the box and act intelligently to protect the people, the culture and future from deaths and destruction. This does not sound like a day dream but an attainable goal only if the Arab people take action to change the course of history or else wars and perpetuated sectarian belligerency will consume all that is morally and intellectually valuable and credible assets for a sustainable future. There is no military triumph in seeking a peaceful transformation for political change and future-building
Communal Tensions In Atali, Haryana
By Janhastakshep – A campaign against fascist designs
Communal tensions in Atali village of Ballabgarh Division – A preliminary report of fact finding team
BJP’s Neo-Liberalism And Hindutva: A Risky Romance
By Rahul Jambhulkar & Abdullah A Raheman
To construe BJP government’s economic reform and RSS’s religio-cultural project as binary opposite of each other would be a mistake. Although, which of the two is privileged and placed at the centre is obscure and discombobulate, but is indispensable and deliberate. The ruling government at centre somewhat successfully projects confusion around the supposed binary values and its ability to make decision independently of RSS
Corporate India Thrives And The Real India Withers
By Sukumaran C. V.
Manmohan Singh and his team have gone and Mr. Modi has come, but the policies have still not been changed and our farmers still kill themselves
“Mandela Rules” On Prisoner Treatment Adopted
In Landmark Revision Of UN Standards
By Amnesty International
The United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice adopted crucial revisions of 60-year-old international standards on treatment of prisoners at a [recently held] meeting in Vienna, which Amnesty International said could herald in a new era of respect for prisoners’ human rights
Obama’s Failed State Policy In Africa
By Thomas C. Mountain
The Obama regime must be held responsible for a series of failed or nearly failed states on the African continent. Recently Burundi has been in the news but it could just as easily be Nigeria, Mali or the Central African Republic. Whether the calamities that have befallen these neocolonialist constructions have been intentional or not, the ruination and depredations inflicted on large swaths of Africa amount to what can only be described as a failed state policy
26 May, 2015
NATO Begins Anti-Russian Air Drill In Arctic
By Patrick Martin
More than 4,000 troops from six NATO countries and three non-member states began a major air exercise over far northern Europe Monday in one of the largest military mobilizations of the year. Arctic Challenge is to last two weeks and involves more than 100 warplanes from the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Norway, and the Netherlands, all NATO members, plus Sweden, Finland and Switzerland
DIA Docs: West Wants A “Salafist Principality In Eastern Syria”
By Robert Barsocchini
Newly-declassified US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) documents from 2012 reveals that West Wants A “Salafist Principality In Eastern Syria”
US Memorial Day – Also Remember Scores Of Millions Of Civilian Deaths In US Wars
By Dr Gideon Polya
In 2015 US Memorial Day is commemorated on 25 May. People respect those who have died for their country but the greatest respect is shown by telling the truth about the wars in which they died. The US has invaded 70 nations. American deaths in 11 major wars total 1.3 million but this is eclipsed by civilian deaths from violence or deprivation totalling 90 million in WW2, 47 million deaths in post-1950 US wars, 10 million Muslim deaths in the post-9-11 War on Terror and 20 million preventable American deaths since 9-11
Memorial Day! Americans Honor Military That Collaterally
Slaughtered Millions of Non-Caucasian Children
By Jay Janson
Article describes how Memorial Day will evolve into a day of mourning not only the military deaths of friends and family but a day of mourning for having been deceived by a media owned by profiteers in the genocidal use of America's Armed Forces all around our blessed world, and of intense interest in the prosecution of everyone responsible for their shame in the eyes tens of millions of victims of their lamentable ignorance
Memorial Day Heroes: "Thank You For Your Service"...On Second Thought
By Rosemarie Jackowski
It is Memorial Day again. Some will celebrate. Some will drink too much. Some will march in parades. Some will rally around the flag. Some will go shopping. Some will mourn. I am among the mourners. I mourn mostly for those we have killed — and I mourn for those we haven’t killed yet, but will in the days ahead. I mourn for all of the mothers and fathers who put their children to bed at night and wonder if this will be the night that they are killed by a drone attack. I mourn for the 500,000 Iraqi children - dead because of U.S. foreign policy. The official policy as described by Madeleine Albright on 60 Minutes was 'that we think the price was worth it.' Worth it to whom? Not to the mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, grandmothers and grandfathers of those children
In Their Own Words
By Ron Forthofer
Here in the US, we have been led to believe that we are an exceptional people and the indispensable nation. During our lifetime we have been exposed to lots of myths about the US, particularly about how we are always on the side of good. Below are insider comments challenging this key myth
The Epoch Of Human Economy
By Lionel Anet
Life is an economic process. It uses the energy essentially from sunlight and the earth’s minerals to build structures and to self-maintain, then to acquire more of those items and propagate more of its self. That’s life; its economy will vary according to the niche it occupies. Economies have become so varied and sophisticated particularly ours, that its simple value is easily hidden. However we’re interested in human economy, so I’m dividing the epoch of humans into Eras and Periods, to better see how we’re arriving towards our self-destruction
“Capitalism Has Failed” And The System Doesn’t Work
By A D Hemming
Ditching the un Patriot Act as it should actually be called would be a rather good start right now. Then move on to cutting the budget for the Pentagon and other affiliated agencies in the national security complex. It’s good to remember it was a GOP president, Dwight D Eisenhower who did just that twice in 1955 and 1960 showing he really meant what he said in this 1953 speech on “A Chance for Peace.” It can and should be done
Dr. GN Saibaba: Silencing Democracy And Criminalizing Dissent
Press Release
A little over one year after the abduction and arrest of Dr. GN Saibaba, poets, intellectuals, artists, teachers, students, activists came together for a Convention against Silencing Democracy & Criminalizing Dissent at the Hindi Bhawan in New Delhi. This convention was organized in solidarity with Dr. GN Saibaba, Assistant Professor of English at Ram Lal Anand College, University of Delhi and a well-known human rights activist. Dr. Saibaba, a person with 90% physical disability hailing from an underprivileged background, has been in the forefront of democratic movements across the subcontinent. Ever since his arrest, Dr. Saibaba has been kept in torturous conditions in the anda cell in Nagpur Central Jail. He has been denied the most basic facilities crucial for his survival in jail. This convention intended to highlight Dr. Saibaba’s condition in jail and the treatment meted out to him as well as demands his immediate release
Coca Cola Compensation Bill: Government Of India
Subverts The Constitutional Process
By Dr S Faizi
When a piece of legislation unanimously passed by a State legislature in difference to massive public demand is sent to the Centre for Presidential assent it is held up in the Home Ministry for long four years, without even passing it to the President, it represents a subversion of the Constitutional process raising worrying questions about the Centre’s utter disregard for the Constitutionally endowed legislative powers of the State Assemblies and the whole Constitutional process itself. All on behalf of a recalcitrant multinational corporation once totally expelled from the country
Jammu & Kashmir: Irrationality Is Rationality In This Corner Of The World
By Dr. Fayaz Ahmad Bhat
After assuming the charge of his Office the Honorable Minister of Education, Naeem Akhtar, is working tirelessly to reform the education system in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. After Late Dr. Ghulam Nabi, looking Naeem Akhtar, seems the only Education Minister that Jammu and Kashmir ever had. He looks serious and having a will to reform the education system in the state. However, there is still a lot to be done and undone in the sector. Many steps already taken are unscientific and dangerous not only for the education system but for the society at large. This write up aims a sociological apprehension of government policies besides making sense of some actions, albeit in lighter vein
Muslims And Terrorism—The Right Response
By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Some days ago, a Muslim school student asked me, “How should I respond when my friends from other communities allege that all, or most, Muslims are terrorists, or that all, or most, terrorists are Muslims?” Here is my response....
India: No Place For Dissent In World’s Biggest Democracy
By Avik Roy
“You can’t muzzle dissent in a democracy”, said the Delhi High Court while delivering a verdict against the federal government’s attitude towards civil society. But this is what green campaigners say India’s government led by prime minister Narendra Modi aims to do — stifle the voices that speak a language different from that of the state. On April 9 the federal government blocked foreign funding to Greenpeace India with immediate effect by suspending its licence for six months and served a notice to it asking why its registration should not be cancelled
23 May, 2015
OECD Report: Global Social Inequality Hits New Record
By Gabriel Black
Income inequality in many developed countries has reached an all-time high, according to a report released Thursday by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The report also notes that growth of social inequality has been accompanied by the growth of part-time and contingent labor, particularly for younger workers
100% Clean Energy By 2050: Decarbonization As Denial
By Bill Henderson
I hope you take climate change seriously. We need open debate about our real predicament. We need to escape denial and consider real, effective mitigation strategies. Ask yourself: what will our kids look back and think of our present conceptualization of climate danger and our hands tied behind our back ineffectual mitigation?
A Color Revolution For Macedonia
By Paul Craig Roberts
During the Cold War Washington was concerned about communists fomenting street protests that they could turn into revolutions, with groomed politicians waiting in the wings to take over the new government, thus expanding the Soviet empire. Today this is precisely what Washington does. We recently witnessed this operation in Ukraine and now it seems to be underway in Macedonia
Fast Track” Violates The U.S. Constitution"
By Eric Zuesse
The Constitution’s two-thirds Senate rule regarding treaties is violated by Fast Track as it currently stands and has stood; and that provision of Fast Track (reducing the required two-thirds down to merely half of the Senators voting “Yea”) would need to be eliminated and the Constitution’s two-thirds-Senate requirement restored, in order for there to be able to be any further applications of Fast Track; this would not necessarily apply regarding past applications of Fast Track such as NAFTA, and prudentiality might sway against such retrospective applications; but, for TPP, TTIP, TISA, and other future applications of Fast Track
The SOB’s of Wichita: The Koch Brothers
Reviewed by Jane LaTour
A review of "Sons of Wichita: How the Koch Brothers Became America’s Most Powerful and Private Dynasty" by Daniel Schulman (Grand Central, 2014)
Why Leftists Should Read John Ralston Saul — Critically
By Justin Podur
John Ralston Saul is a rare and influential public intellectual in Canada. Indigenous sovereigntists have engaged critically with his most recent book, The Comeback. It’s high time the Canadian left joined the debate
Unlike Chavez, Chavistas Appealed To A Powerless
US President Who Works For Investors In Genocide!
By Jay Janson
Chavez called Obama a clown, the US a “terrorist government,” said intelligence showed that it plans to invade his country. Were Venezuelans petitioning a clown chief executive of a terrorist government planning to invade Venezuela? Though the intention of this petition surely was to bring world attention to US threats, it made Obama look important and helped a criminal war investing elite maintain it’s nefarious anonymity
Baghdadi, You Are Wrong
By Mike Ghouse
Muslims Challenge Al-Baghdadi’s Lunatic Message
South Sudan: Escalation Of Violence Points To
Failed Regional And International Action
By Amnesty International
New research conducted by Amnesty International on the surge in military activity in South Sudan over the past weeks clearly shows that regional and international efforts to end the human suffering caused by armed conflict in South Sudan have failed
Interview With Redur Xelil, The Spokesman of People's Protection Units (YPG)
By Zanyar Omrani
Interview with Kurdish resistance fighters in Syria
The Religious Domination Of World Affairs
By Sazzad Hussain
Now it seems that the Islamist forces, led by Saudi Arabia, Qatar etc are in perfect sync with the global powers and business houses to run their functions unaffected. Likewise Turkey’s ruling party is also leaning towards Islmaism, transforming the Kemalite secularism to Sunni identity and supporting the Islamist forces fighting the Assad regime in Syria. Turkey’s present government is also very business and industry friendly allowing all types of capital to operate in their country
Through The People's Lens: Modi's Development Model So Far
By Dr Rahul Pandey, Bobby Ramakant and Dr Sandeep Pandey
Story of Modi’s development model so far: Cutting health and education expenditure, forcing land acquisition, buying expensive jets and unsafe nuclear power, benefitting Big Business, diluting employment guarantee, fanning communal fires, exploiting Ganga, curbing dissent and shielding governance from public scrutiny
22 May, 2015
Massive Military Escalation Looms As ISIS Advances In Iraq
By Niles Williamson
The Pentagon announced Thursday that it will rush 2,000 AT-4 anti-tank rockets to the Iraqi military following the capture of Ramadi, capital of Iraq’s western Anbar province, by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). ISIS fighters have seized control of tanks, artillery and large caches ammunition abandoned by the Iraqi military as they fled. More than 40,000 civilians have been forced from their homes by the ISIS advance
Which Countries Are Failing To Deliver Gaza Aid?
By Annie Slemrod
Gulf Arab states and Turkey have spectacularly failed to fulfill their pledges to Gaza, contributing to a two-thirds shortfall in promised assistance to the beleaguered enclave, a new report reveals. Qatar has delivered just 10 percent of the $1 billion it promised, while Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Kuwait between them have handed over just over $50 million of the $900 million they pledged, according to a World Bank report
How The U.S. Navy Plans To War Game The Arctic
By Dahr Jamail
In Iraq in wartime, I saw what the U.S. military was capable of in a distant ravaged land. In June, I'll see what that military is capable of in what still passes for peacetime and close to home indeed. As I sit at my desk writing this story on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, the roar of Navy jets periodically rumbles in from across Puget Sound where a massive naval air station is located. I can't help but wonder whether, years from now, I'll still be writing pieces with titles like "Destroying What Remains," as the Navy continues its war-gaming in an ice-free summer Arctic amid a sea of off-shore oil drilling platforms
Memorial Day Is A Hoax
By Paul Craig Roberts
Memorial Day commemorates soldiers killed in war. We are told that the war dead died for us and our freedom. US Marine General Smedley Butler challenged this view. He said that our soldiers died for the profits of the bankers, Wall Street, Standard Oil, and the United Fruit Company. Here is an excerpt from a speech that he gave in 1933
How American Lies Have Destabilized Global Regions
By G. Asgar Mitha
Lamentably, the great American nation has morphed into a destructive empire fed by the neocon lies and foreign policies formulated by the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) in 1997 that has included Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, John Bolton and Paul Wolfowitz among the 25 people responsible for the founding principles
How The Media Deceive The Public About “Fast Track” And The “Trade Bills”
By Eric Zuesse
The way that “Fast Track” is described to the American public is as an alternative method for the Senate to handle “Trade Bills” (TPP & TTIP) that the President presents to the Senate for their approval; and this alternative method is said to be one in which “no amendments are permitted, and there will be a straight up-or-down vote on the bill."
"The Path To Zero: Dialogues On Nuclear Dangers" By Richard Falk And David Krieger
Book Review By John Scales Avery
The complete abolition of nuclear weapons is linked with a change of heart, the replacement of narrow nationalism by loyalty to humanity as a whole, and the replacement of militarism by a just and enforcible system of international law
Altered Genes, Twisted Truths’ Author Challenges
Monsanto’s Robb Fraley To Respond To His Book
By Colin Todhunter
In a challenge delivered to Monsanto’s headquarters on May 20, 2015, US public interest attorney Steven Druker calls on that corporation to find any inaccurate statements of fact in his new book: Altered Genes, Twisted Truth – How the Venture to Genetically Engineer Our Food Has Subverted Science, Corrupted Government, and Systematically Deceived the Public. The thoroughly documented and referenced book exposes the substantial risks of genetically engineered foods and the multiple misrepresentations that have enabled them to permeate world markets
How Development-Socialism Ended In Capitalism
By Saral Sarkar
A true socialist's question is: when will this allegedly "unfortunately necessary" march along the capitalistic path end for China and Vietnam? Will it ever come to an end? And when will the work of building up a socialist society (socialist relations of production, in proper Marxist jargon) begin?
Three Years Of Confronting Western Propaganda
By Andre Vltchek
“Exposing Lies of The Empire” is now in print, but I do not feel that the journey is over. 822 pages (the printing house could not accept 1.000 pages and the font had to be changed) is actually very little, comparing to thousands of horrendous stories that the Empire is triggering all over the world. There is no time to take a break. Pseudo-reality and outright lies of the Western imperialism have to be confronted
The Rohingyas: A Glimmer Of Hope
By Chandra Muzaffar
It is commendable that the Malaysian government has undertaken a systematic Search and Rescue (SAR) operation in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal aimed at saving the lives of thousands of stranded Rohingyas and Bangladeshis. The right to life is the highest human right and all the governments in ASEAN should have committed themselves to this sacred principle at the very outset of the present crisis
Wine Empire Replaces Redwood Empire
By Shepherd Bliss
Northern California’s Sonoma County has been known historically as part of the natural Redwood Empire. Wine industry lobbyists re-branded it as the commercial “Wine Country.” Its economy has been so colonized by outside investors, who extract water and resources from the environment and export them, that re-branding would be appropriate. A more accurate description would be that Sonoma County is now part of the multi-national Wine Empire
Prisoners: Kashmir Beyond AFSPA
By Qazi Shibli
When the civil Society of India or elsewhere talks about Kashmir, the first idea that comes to their mind is AFSPA, a draconian Law. They discuss the law thoroughly, Many of them, in fact most of them have by hearted the sections, Cons of this draconian law. However the less talked about vaguely formulated act, PSA which allows detention for up to two years without charge or trial on the purported presumption that they may in the future commit acts harmful to the state, hence preventive detention akin to Preventive war of the U.S in Iraq. And the least talked problem is Oppression
Aruna Shanbaug’s Death An Indictment Of Justice, Not An Argument For Euthanasia
By Samar
Aruna Shanbaug’s death does not either present a case for legalizing euthanasia or offer a case against it. Her death has nothing to do with that discourse, legitimate as it may be. Aruna Shanbaug’s case is about the rule of law in India. Her death, following 42 years of life in a vegetative state, confined to a hospital bed, is about the rot that the Republic carries in the form of its criminal justice system
21 May, 2015
Poroshenko Says Ukraine Is At War With Russia
By Alex Lantier
In an inflammatory statement to the BBC yesterday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko declared that his regime, which enjoys political and military support from Washington and the European Union (EU), is at war with Russia. “Can I be absolutely clear with you, this is not a fight with Russian-backed separatists, this is a real war with Russia,” Poroshenko said. He added that he expected renewed fighting in regions of east Ukraine held by pro-Russian separatist forces in the coming days
Save Our Annadatas
By Dr Vandana Shiva
If Indian peasants and small farmers are wiped out no one else can feed India. India’s agriculture and food systems are based on diversity. Imagine your thali with food cooked from GMO corn and soya (the only major crops grown in the US), without spices, without local vegetables, without indigenous edible oils, without desi wheat or rice or millets
Sowing The GM Seeds Of Depopulation?
By Colin Todhunter
As with the control of food and agriculture, the US also regards depopulation as a potential geo-strategic tool in the quest for control of global resources. What better way to achieve this via a (GM) tampered-with food system that US agribusiness has increasingly come to dominate?
2015: Is It The Year Marcellus Shale Gas Peaked
And Then Began Falling As Fast As It Rose?
By Nicholas C. Arguimbau
How easy it is to forget there are limits to growth, especially when what you observe is designed to make us forget. The great Marcellus is famous for having increased its production 12-fold in four years to become the US' largest producing natural gas field, but things have not looked that great lately. The average daily production estimate reported by EIA in January was 16319, in February was 16550 a gain of 1.4%, in March was 16600, a gain of 0.3% in April has been 16706, a gain of0.9% and is projected to be 16716 MMcf/d in May, a gain of 0.06%. Not a stellar performance.: a gain of 2.4% in 4 months, most of that at the beginning. Any bets that it will be going down by July? Where is the mighty Marcellus?
Is Israel America's Friend? Or America's Enemy?
By Eric Zuesse
Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has selected as his Minister of Justice a woman who has expressed hatred against all Palestinians, and he has appointed as his negotiator with the Palestians a man who said, and who has always followed though with, “We are all against a Palestinian state, there is no question about it.”
Fundamentalist America Has Trashed Secular Governance, Modernity,
Democracy, Women's Rights And Children's Rights In The Muslim World
By Dr Gideon Polya
Successive American governments claim to be leading a global fight of Western civilization against Muslim extremists but the Awful Truth is that American governments lie and that a pro-One Percenter, religious fundamentalist-dominated, Neocon American and Zionist Imperialist (NAZI)-perverted America has an appalling record of supporting and exciting religious fundamentalist rebels (jihadis) against modern, secular regimes in Muslim countries with the collateral trashing of democracy, women's rights, and children's rights
India: Preserve Net Neutrality For Innovation And Growth
By George Abraham
India is still at its infancy when it comes to technology innovation and the Internet is key to that success. If India is to become a future hub of innovation promoting competition and investment in emerging technologies, let it preserve a free and open Internet for generations to come. Let India not extend its VIP culture on to the Internet
Jammu Massacre Of 1947
By Dr. Abdul Ahad
What followed were the heinous genocidal crimes that killed about half a million unarmed Muslims between August and December 1947, besides enforcing exodus of an incalculable number that had escaped jaws of barbaric death. Twenty seven thousand Muslim women including little girls were abducted. The daughter of a veteran leader, Choudhary Abbas was recovered after three days of her abduction. With no parallel in State’s history, it was a huge massacre of innocent Muslims; nay a systematic genocide; a holocaust of humanity comparable to wiping out of people by Changaz and Timore and more monstrous than carried during American-Indian Wars and second World War
20 May, 2015
Obama Gave Up On Ukraine, Press Simply Ignored It
By Eric Zuesse
"If indeed President Poroshenko is advocating an engagement in a forceful effort at this time, we would strongly urge him to think twice not to engage in that kind of activity, that that would put Minsk in serious jeopardy. And we would be very, very concerned about what the consequences of that kind of action at this time may be "- John Kerry. No western media house or agencies reported this complete abandonment of Ukrainian Nazi regime by USA which was installed by United States itself!
Fossil Fuel Subsidies To Hit $5.3 Trillion In 2015, Says IMF
By Ed King
Subsidies for fossil fuels that cause climate change have soared since 2013, a new study from the International Monetary Fund has revealed. Oil, gas and coal costs will be subsidized to the tune of US$5.3 trillion a year in 2015. The last time the IMF ran the data it calculated they were worth $1.9 trillion
The Canonization Of Palestinian Saints Is
A Message For Justice And Freedom In Palestine!
By Dr. Salim Nazzal
The canonization of the two Palestinian saints, Miriam Bawarde from the Galilee, and Maria Ghattas from Jerusalem at the Vatican in the 17th of May carries several messages to the world. The first message is that Palestinians produced saints as they produce poets and fighters for the freedom of their home country.It's a message that Palestinian are rooted deeply in their country, and the Zionist land theft and occupation shall end one day
New York Times Coverage Follows Narrative Of Israeli State Power
By Matt Peppe
In both stories, the Times sticks comfortably to the ideological framework of Israeli authorities. The Israeli regime says BDS is a form of anti-Semitism; the Times uses that narrative to shape a story. The Israeli regime says they would be forced to attack a sovereign nation and kill civilians; the Times repeats their claim unchallenged without a single mention of international law. While the Times is comfortable challenging the narrative of college activists, they are apparently unwilling to do so for Israeli officials
Nakba And The Question Of ‘Palestinian Strategy’
By Ramzy Baroud
The very idea of formulating a strategy would require urgent prerequisites that are currently lacking. These prerequisites are not only essential, but most critical if Palestinians wish to overcome the current stalemate and surpass the dead-end process that is the so-called "peace process"
Why Elites Love Drones
By Robert J. Burrowes
Attacks by drones on innocent civilians, such as wedding parties in Afghanistan, serve the purpose of provoking retaliatory responses brilliantly. And by not mentioning the violence that provokes the retaliations while emphasising the retaliations themselves, elites and their agents are able to 'justify' western military policy for those not paying much attention or gullible enough to believe the warped perspective presented by compliant academics and the corporate media
Boston Invokes The Death Penalty
By Mickey Z.
The death penalty stands as a particularly malicious example of how the 1% attempts to maintain control. This sadistic and racist institution remains in effect in 34 states -- plus the U.S. government and military. California has the highest number of death row inmates, but the state that's executed the most prisoners since 1976 is (wait for it…) Texas. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why?
Sin, Socialism And Sacrilege
By Thomas Riggins
In some ultraconservative circles as well as groups of “Christians" and other misguided religious zealots the issue of gay marriage has become the cause célèbre du jour. [I use the term ‘misguided’ to refer to bigoted and backward thinking not in tune, in my view, with modern religious and philosophical opinions.] I propose to discuss a typical article from the right casting aspersions upon the concept of gay marriage as a constitutional right that must be respected under the law and protected from bigoted attacks disguised as authentic religious beliefs claiming also to be constitutionally protected. I will attempt to demonstrate that gay marriages should be constitutionally protected and that no religious objections to it are worthy of respect on legal, ethical, or moral grounds
Behind The Media’s Assault On Seymour Hersh
By Shamus Cooke
When combined with the NSA spying program, Obama’s lies make previous presidential scandals — such as Watergate and Iran-Contra — look incredibly tame, while making the U.S. media look like accomplices instead of news reporters
On Dr. Rohan’s Blog: Hijacking And Plagiarising The Suffering And Pain Of Poor
By Dr. Fayaz Ahmad Bhat
Lastly, I want to say to Dr. Roshan that your post got shared 2000 on facebook and a Reddit thread has also started on it as it talks and represents elite class. Mine may not get shared 2 times even if it is published anywhere as it narrates the suffering of the poor, powerless and the oppressed
Climbing The Wrong Tree!
By Mohammad Ashraf
Before the elections no one believed the slogans concerning the final political settlement of Kashmir. In fact, it is hypocritical to expect mainstream parties to have any role in that as most of these are only protégés of Delhi. People wanted good governance and improvement in day to day living. It was not difficult to achieve this given the political will and sincerity coupled with dedication. Unfortunately, this too has not happened as the rulers are climbing the wrong trees. It is not important how many dreams you sell to the people. The most important thing is what is happening at the ground level! There is a Kashmiri proverb about a person asking Willow trees to give Pears! That sums up the present situation. There is still time to find the right tree and climb it. Otherwise there would be no Ghar Wapsi for the present rulers from the valley!
18 May, 2015
US Special Forces Stage Raid Into Syria
By Patrick Martin
The US government said Saturday that soldiers in the elite Delta Force, the main Pentagon Special Forces unit, had carried out a raid into eastern Syria, killing a leader of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and other members of the Islamic extremist group
1921: Black Business District In Tulsa, Oklahoma, Attacked,
Aerially Bombed And Razed, Victims Dumped In Mass Graves
By Robert Barsocchini
May 31st, 1921, Tulsa, Oklahoma. The ‘Negro Wall Street’ district of the Greenwood neighborhood is bombed from the air. Whites invade the enviable black business district, looting, burning, killing. The police commandeer private planes. The 101st Airborne is flown in. A load of dynamite is dropped. 75 instantly killed. Hundreds of homes and businesses destroyed. Four truckloads of bodies are shoveled into mass graves along the Arkansas river. 4,000 black men, women, and children arrested and placed in concentration camps, where they are required to carry ‘passes’. The city quickly re-zones the neighborhood so that the railroad can be run through, thus completing the destruction of that neighborhood
Hungry Thirsty Thousands of Migrants Drifting on Sea in South-East Asia:
Violent Clashes Over Food Kill Dozens
By Countercurrents.org
Thousands of migrants hungry and thirsty for days are drifting on south-east Asian sea as countries in the region are pushing them back. There are children and women among the thousands in small boats. Deaths are normal in the desperate condition. In at least one incident, dozens were killed in violent clashes over food among the persons in a drifting boat
The Rohingyas: Stop Persecution, End The Exodus
By Hassanal Noor Rashid
While the responses have been mainly aimed towards the human traffickers, with military action being considered, there is a far greater crime being played out that demands justice for these people who have to suffer so much unnecessary hardships.The Malaysian, Indonesian and Thai governments should apply diplomatic pressure immediately upon the Myanmar government to address the root problem which is the persecution of the Rohingyas. Once the persecution stops, the massive exodus of refugees through land and sea will also come to an end
The U.N. At 70: Is It Still Fit For The Purpose?
By Julia Rainer
If the UN at 70 turns out not be fit for the purpose, it has to take immediate measures to become so – otherwise it would be letting down people in need and compromising its legitimacy
Russia And The US-Led Nato's World Order
By Dr. Vladislav B. Sotirovic
A full victory of the Russian “Westernizers” up to 2014 allow them to further westernize Russia according to the pattern of the Emperor Peter the Great with the price of Russia’s inferiority and even servility in the international relations. For that reason, the West already succeeded (at least up to 2014) to encircle Russia with three rings of Russia’s enemies: the NATO at the West, the Muslim Central Asian states at the South and China at the South-East
Presidential Waivers, Child Soldiers, And An American-Made Army in Africa
By Nick Turse
I didn't really think he was going to shoot me. There was no anger in his eyes. His finger may not have been anywhere near the trigger. He didn't draw a bead on me. Still, he was a boy and he was holding an AK-47 and it was pointed in my direction. It was unnerving. I don't know how old he was. I'd say 16, though maybe he was 18 or 19. But there were a few soldiers nearby who looked even younger -- no more than 15
Wine Maker Paul Hobbs Herbicide Spraying Upsets Parents
And Neighbors At Apple Blossom School Meeting
By Shepherd Bliss
The Twin Hills Union School District Board of Trustees last meeting of the academic year occurred May 14, as apple trees throughout the region were indeed blossoming with beautiful views. But not on the land bordering these schools. Hidden beneath the attractive, compelling school names is the ugly reality of their being sprayed by herbicides proven to cause cancer
Pride: Not For Me
By Romi Mahajan
I would think pride inhered in rejecting one’s oppressors. But one can find memorials to Victoria, Curzon, Dalhousie, Willingdon and every other colonialist of British origin all over India. Is that pride? I would think pride meant rejoining in one’s clothing and festivals. But in urban India, Indian clothes are referred to as “ethnic wear” and you can actually celebrate Thanksgiving (!!!) in many eateries and hotels. Is that the pride of winners? I remain befuddled and frankly rejoice in being on the side of the losers
India Going Big On Dirty Coal
By Alan Johnstone
Coal and Power Minister of India Piyush Goyal , said that India’s per capita consumption of coal is what the US had in the 1860s. “The US has had 150 years to develop their country from cheap power using coal. Having met their development needs, it is easy to tell us that it is India’s imperative to clean the world. That is not acceptable.” And so capitalist growth prevails as government policy, regardless of the known effects upon the health of the environment and of the Indian people themselves
Koonthankulam: Nature Never Fails
By Veena M
Nature proves again, she might be a bit late but that she won’t keep out of the scenario. It rained in Koonthankulam and the migratory birds are back
Drop The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill 2014
By PUCL
People’s Union for Civil Liberties strongly condemns the recent Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill 2014, which permits juveniles between the ages of 16 – 18 years who are accused of committing “heinous” offences (i.e. crimes carrying imprisonment of seven years or more) to be tried as an adult
16 May, 2015
One Year Of Modi Rule: India Gangrened!
By Jagadish G Chandra
India’s capitalist democracy has surely turned a page in the 21st century. A thousand headed Cobra has come-off its age and has started vexing its fangs, spewing out the deadly venom of communalism in all directions
Rohingya Boat Migrants Call Out For Help
By BBC News
Hundreds of Myanmar migrants stranded on a boat for a week in the Andaman Sea with no food or water are so desperate they are drinking their own urine. The fishing boat, carrying people of the Muslim Rohingya minority, has been refused entry to Thailand and 10 people are already said to have died. The BBC's Jonathan Head visited the site and said it was "the most extraordinary scene" with desperate people calling out for help
All At Sea: What Lies Behind Southeast Asia’s Migrant Crisis?
By Kristy Siegfried
The plight of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers from Myanmar and Bangladesh, left adrift without food and water for nearly a week, has all the hallmarks of a full-blown humanitarian crisis. Yet despite statements of concern from governments, aid agencies and human rights groups, there is little sign of a coordinated plan to address the issue. Boats have been spotted off the coasts of Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, apparently abandoned by human trafficking gangs who operate across maritime and land borders and shunned by regional powers
Rajasthan: The New Killing Field Of Dalits
By Samar
Outraged, angry or dejected, how should one react to the most recent case of brutal killing of Dalits in Nagaur district Rajasthan? Most recent, because it was not the first one and howsoeve much one would want otherwise, this would not be the last one. The ones crushed to death by tractors of the so called upper caste were not the first one to die, the ‘upper caste’ people have set a Dalit family on fire on 18 February this year as well and thus burnt an elderly woman alive. Incidentally, that murder too was committed over a land dispute
Here's How Your Senators Voted, In The Key Senate Vote To End American Democracy
By Eric Zuesse
The U.S. Senate passed “H.R. 1314,” by 65 to 33 votes, at 1:55 in the afternoon of Thursday 14 May 2015. That's five votes more than the 60 votes that the measure needed in order to pass. This is the key congressional action among the many that are required in order for U.S. President Barack Obama's international-‘trade' treaties — TPP, TTIP, and TISA — to become law in the United States. It's the ultimate decision-moment, concerning America's future
The Whole Truth About Israel In One Sentence
By Alan Hart
It was written by Gideon Levy, the conscience of Israeli journalism, in an article for Ha'aretz, and here it is. "The two-state solution is dead (it was never born); the Palestinian state will not arise; international law does not apply to Israel; the occupation will continue to crawl quickly to annexation, annexation will continue to crawl quickly toward an apartheid state; "Jewish" supersedes "democracy", nationalism and racism will get the stamp of government approval, but they're already here and have been for a long time."
Curious Case Of Chhatradhar Mahato
By Nisha Biswas
The judgment of May12, 2015 of Midnapore session court to sentence Chhatradhar Mahato to life imprisonment is a travesty of justice and an attempt by the state to send a clear message to the people’s movement across West Bengal and India that any dissent against the state and the ruling classes will be answered in a ruthless manner
#FreeAtena: Facing Prison For Drawing Cartoons In Iran
By Amnesty International UK
Atena Farghadani is a prisoner of conscience, detained and facing years in prison for her peaceful activism. 28-year-old Atena will be tried on Tuesday of charges including ‘spreading propaganda against the system’ and ‘insulting members of parliament through paintings’. Ask Iran’s leaders to release her immediately
The Final Act For Larsen B Ice Shelf
By Carol Rasmussen
A new NASA study finds the last remaining section of Antarctica's Larsen B Ice Shelf, which partially collapsed in 2002, is quickly weakening and is likely to disintegrate completely before the end of the decade
Retrograde Moves On Child Labour Law In India
By Mahima Sukheja
Slipper making industry, Zari industry requires soft hands, the role that is being filled by the children already, but is kept in wraps. This move by the government would open up Pandora box where in the name of family work; these children would be involved in exploitative work. This would help not the family, but surely the middle men for the reasons known
15 May, 2015
Why Greenpeace India Is First On The Chopping Block
By Sajai Jose
Especially irksome to the government must have been Greenpeace’s targeting of two domestic entities that are also major global players in coal—public-sector company Coal India, India’s 5th most valuable company by market capitalisation at $35.9 billion (Rs 2.3 lakh crore) and the Gujarat-based Adani Group, whose promoter Gautam Adani is known to have a close relationship with Modi. Greenpeace has campaigned against both companies, exposing their claims on reserves and financial health, and documenting environmental and other violations. Greenpeace’s Australia chapter has opposed Adani’s plans to develop the world’s largest coal deposit, the Carmichael mine in Queensland, which it acquired for 16.5 billion dollars
The Nakba: A Crime Watched, Ignored And Remembered
By Ilan Pappe
The 15th of May is usually a trigger for a journey back in time. And for an unfathomable reason each such journey conjures up a different aspect of the Nakba. This year, more than anything else, I am preoccupied with the continued apathy and indifference of the Western political elite and media to the plight of the Palestinians. Even the horror of the Yarmuk camp did not associate in the minds of politicians and journalists alike the possible connection between saving the refugees there and their internationally recognised right of return to their homeland
Roger Waters To Dionne Warwick: “You Are Showing Yourself To Be
Profoundly Ignorant Of What Has Happened In Palestine Since 1947″
By Roger Waters
I believe you mean well, Ms. Warwick, but you are showing yourself to be profoundly ignorant of what has happened in Palestine since 1947, and I am sorry but you are wrong, art does know boundaries. In fact, it is an absolute responsibility of artists to stand up for human rights – social, political and religious – on behalf of all our brothers and sisters who are being oppressed, whoever and wherever they may be on the surface of this small planet
Fertility Of World's Soil Reaching Peak That Will Threaten Food Supplies
By Steve Connor
The fertility of the world’s soil is reaching a peak that will threaten global food supplies this century unless more is done to preserve the long-term viability of existing farmland, according to a group of leading scientists
Is Washington Coming To Its Senses?
By Paul Craig Roberts
There is much speculation about US Secretary of State John Kerry’s rush visit to Russia in the wake of Russia’s successful Victory Day celebration on May 9. On May 11, Kerry, who was snubbing Russia on the 9th, was on his way to Russia, and Putin consented to see him on May 12. As time passes we will find out why Kerry was snubbing Putin on May 9 and 3 days later was criticizing Washington’s puppet regime in Ukraine. For what is known at this time, a possible explanation is that Washington is coming to its senses
The Lonely American
By Gaither Stewart
In August 2005 I wrote an article about the impression media images of lonely American soldiers at checkpoints in Iraq made on me then. Now I have re-written, updated and expanded the article, while retaining the original, even more valid title
How America's ‘News' Media Killed America's Democracy: TPP & TTIP
By Eric Zuesse
As I reported on Wednesday, a deal was worked out in the U.S. Senate on the early afternoon of May 13th to "Fast-Track" through to approval U.S. President Barack Obama's proposed trade deals, TPP with Asia, and TTIP with Europe. (It should have been reported on the nightly TV news programs, but most of them ignored it then, and reported the news only the next day when the Senators made it official.)
How To Fight Western Propaganda
By Andre Vltchek
When the most powerful and the most destructive force on earth employs all its persuasive might, utilizing everything from the mainstream media to educational facilities, in order to justify its crimes, when it spreads its poisonous propaganda and lies in order to oppress the world and suppress hope, do we step back and begin endless and detailed work on precise and objective narratives? Or do we confront lies and propaganda with our own narrative, supported by our intuition, passion and dreams for a better world?
One Year Of Modi Sarkar: Hate Speech Galore
By Ram Puniyani
The coming to power of Narendra Modi in a way gave an open license to all the affiliates of RSS combine to indulge in open hate speech against the religious minorities. The current agenda behind the hate speech is to consolidate the communal polarization of the society along lines of religion
Indian Government Might As Well Have Legalised Child Labour: AHRC
By Asian Humanrights Comission
Misleading media headlines like "Govt. proposes complete ban on child labour till 14 years" notwithstanding, the Cabinet's nod to amendments in the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2012, is a hoodwink that will push more children into hazardous work, something the government claims it opposes
Goods And Services Tax Act Vs State Economy
By Abdul Majid Zargar
the imposition of this law poses a fresh challenge to the fiscal autonomy of the J&K State. According to our own constitution, the State is empowered to levy taxes both on goods & services through State’s General Sales Tax Act. Since central GST Act proposes to subsume all these taxes in one central legislation, the State’s power to impose such taxes will vanish and New-Delhi always on prowl to erode our autonomy will be more than eager to seize this opportunity
14 May, 2015
67 Years Of Continuous Nakba In The Holy Land Of Palestine
By Dr Salim Nazzal
When I was a kid, my father used to summon me on the 15th of May to tell me about the events of Nakba that I did not witness. Like all my generation, I paid the price of the Nakba that I did not live. I inherit it from my family so to speak. I remember how my parents were sentimental while remembering its events. At school, our teachers all witnessed the Nakba recalled its events. At that age, it was difficult to understand its implications on those who lived it.But we naturally felt it through many things. The hardest feeling of all this is the knowledge that we see everybody has a home expect us
Syrian War Set To Re-Explode
By Shamus Cooke
The Syrian war stalemate appears to be over. The regional powers surrounding Syria — especially Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, and Jordan — have re-ignited their war against the Syrian government. After over 200,000 dead and millions of refugees, the U.S. allies in the region recently re-committed to deepening the war, with incalculable consequences
Nazism of Ukraine's Western-Backed Government Is Hidden by Western ‘News' Media
By Eric Zuesse
The pro-Nazi core of the Ukrainian government that was installed by the U.S. in February 2014 is too well-documented to be denied, and so the West's major propaganda media (self-styled as being ‘news' media) instead simply hide it — most don't report any of it, but a few report snippets along with excuses to make individual events seem like aberrations, not the core, which they actually are
Bin Laden The Vindicator
By Linh Dinh
On August 6, 2011, 22 Navy Seals from the Bin Laden hit team were killed when they were shot out of the sky, supposedly by the Taliban. All 38 people onboard that Chinook died, 30 of them Americans. Not before or since had the Taliban killed so many Americans with one shot, and there's also the question of why so many "heroes" from the Bin Laden fuss were so conveniently packed so as to be silenced like that? Liars and criminals, our grinnning leaders kill their own soldiers then pin medals on the cadavers
We Are All Farkhunda
By Justin Podur
Afghanistan has not always been legendary for its conservatism. This whole incident would not have occurred at all in the Kabul of the 1960s or 1970s. The decades of war starting at the end of the 1970s brought Islamists into power whose narrow, violent interpretation of religion came from Saudi Arabia via Pakistan with US sponsorship. These Islamists, the mujahadeen, were followed in power by the Taliban (who had the same Pakistan and Saudi sponsors), and then, when the US and NATO took over in 2001, they brought the mujahadeen back. At that time, US commentators talked about the need to invade Afghanistan to save Afghan women from the Taliban. The invasion and occupation didn't save Farkhunda. If women are saved in Afghanistan in the future, it will be by Afghans and led by women, like those who have mobilized in her name
The Dropouts With The $3 Trillion ROI
By Gabriel Heilig
Right now America loses 1.3 million dropouts a year. That’s a $325 Billion lifetime cost for just one year of dropouts. A decade of dropouts quickly adds up to $3.25 Trillion, in taxes America never receives. That’s a lot of revenue—lost. And a lot of Americans—also, lost. Yet we don’t notice this, because these dark-skinned adolescents are largely invisible to us. We see their hoodies. We don’t see them. So we wind up stereotyping them, our police chasing them down city streets—shooting to kill, not halt, them. Dropouts who survive the streets often wind up in prison. Nearly 80% of our prison inmates are dropouts. It’s a monstrous waste of human capital
Middle Class? What Middle Class?
By Jack A. Smith
It would be shortsighted in the extreme for the progressive and left movements not to follow up in a big way on the deepened consciousness of the American people about unequal distribution of wealth, Washington's failure to protect democracy, the degeneration of the electoral process, the increasing exploitation of workers, the decline of the vaunted middle class and the extraordinary power of the 1% ruling class that controls the U.S. on behalf of a neoliberal form of warrior capitalism
Democrats' Cave-In On TPP And TTIP: Good-Bye Democracy
By Eric Zuesse
The only thing that stood even a chance of retaining the Senate for the Democrats was for a Democrat in the House to introduce a bill of impeachment against Obama. Not a single House Democrat stepped forward. That failure, of all House Democrats, was effectively the end of the chances to retain a vestige of democracy in America — and even throughout the other TPP and TTIP countries. It could possibly have prevented TPP and TTIP
The Poor Can’t Be Asked To Pick Up The Climate Change Bill
By Countercurrents.org
José Graziano da Silva, the Food and Agriculture Organization director-general, told Italian politicians on Paris climate summit: The poor can’t be asked to pick up the climate change bill
The American Military Uncontained
By William J. Astore
Chaos Spread, Casualties Inflicted, Missions Unaccomplished
USCIRF Report On Religious Freedom In India: A Wakeup Call For The Diaspora!
By George Abraham
The question of India’s image is rightfully discussed in a context of the recently released 2015 annual report from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). According to the report, India is listed along with 30 other countries as having “a systematic, ongoing and egregious” standard for failing to protect religious freedoms
Resist Degradation Of Indian Criminal Justice System !
Retired Judge Jyotsana Yagnik Threatened; Murder Convicts Out On Bail
By Concerned Citizens
Text of open letter to Gujarat Government and to public
Sri Lanka: Undoing Corruption – The Colossal, The Trivial, And The Real
By Basil Fernando
Gabriel Garcia Marquez once spoke of Fidel Castro as a person “incapable of conceiving any idea that is not colossal”. During the last few months in Sri Lanka too there has been an interest in colossal ideas. One such colossal ambition is the idea of eliminating corruption
India along with a handful of countries including Russia, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Cuba once again blocked the listing of Chrysotile Asbestos in the Prior Informed Consent list (PIC) at a UN convention meeting currently underway in Geneva, using bogus science and advocating “controlled use”
13 May, 2015
Ananta Bijoy Dash's Murder: Swedish PEN Demands
A Response From The Swedish Embassy In Dhaka
By Svenska PEN
Swedish PEN demands a response from the Swedish Embassy in Dhaka following Tuesday's murder of the author and blogger Ananta Bijoy Dash
US Decision To Open Arctic To Shell Drilling Sparks Green Fury
By Alex Pashley
The Obama administration approved Royal Dutch Shell’s plan to restart drilling off the coast of Alaska on Monday, three years after it was forced to halt operations following a series of safety failures including an oil rig fire. The Anglo-Dutch company wants to begin drilling up to six wells in water about 40 meters deep from this summer on the condition authorities in Washington and Alaska grant it permits
Global Internet Activists Give Thumbs Down To Facebook’s Internet.org
By Tim Karr
As Facebook pushes Internet.org from continent to continent, backlash against the effort has also spread
We Need New Economics For A New Era Of History
By Peter Barnes
Welcome to the Anthropocene, when humans are the dominant geological force on the planet. For this new age we need a new Economy
Non-Religious Population Is Soaring In America
By Eric Zuesse
The Pew Research Center on Religion & Public Life is reporting, in their poll of 35,000 Americans, that during the seven years from 2007 to 2014, the numbers of religiously “Unaffiliated” were soaring, the numbers of Christians were plunging, and the numbers of adherents to non-Christian faiths were rising substantially but not nearly as much as were the numbers of “Unaffiliated.”
Israel Seeks In Nepal To Whitewash Its Crimes In Gaza
By Jonathan Cook
The efforts of Israeli soldiers to save children in Nepal should be commended – but not if it gives them and their compatriots an excuse to turn a blind eye to Palestinian children suffering amid the rubble of Gaza
The Arab Boat: It’s An Arab-Palestinian Nakba, And We Are All Refugees
By Ramzy Baroud
The Palestinian Nakba (the catastrophe of war, displacement and dispossession of 1948) has now become the Arab Nakba. Palestinian refugees know too well what their Arab brethren are going through: the massacres, the unredeemable loss, the despair, and the sinking boats
Policing In USA And Bangladesh: Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid!
By Fazal M. Kamal
New York: Against the ghastly backdrop of rogue law enforcement personnel around the world---by their own confessions---lying, cheating, planting evidence, killing innocent persons and then justifying the murder by being creative with words, here are two questions answers to which are no longer shocking since societies almost everywhere have begun accepting state excesses as “justifiable” and/or “necessary”. 1. Can a broken vehicle taillight end with the motorist’s death after being shot by a policeman? 2. Can an unarmed student be maimed for life by policemen for not complying with their illegal command?
Citizenship For Bangladeshi Hindus: Some Concerns
By Parvin Sultana
Where a large number of refugees continue to face hardships on a day to day basis in India, the government of the day seems more interested in scoring brownie points by differentiating between refugees on the basis of religion. While the problem of Hindu immigrants is not limited to one particular state, the focus this time seems to be on Assam which is going to polls soon and where immigration continues to be a crucial issue. The UPA was careful to go slow on this issue since it involved the question of granting rights on the basis of religion but the NDA seems keen to take up this issue. If citizenship is to be extended on humanitarian grounds to persecuted communities, it cannot be denied to Rohingiyas, Chakmas, Tibetans etc. India being a secular country cannot be assumed to be a natural homeland of a particular religion. However the present government’s act of limiting the benefit of citizenship to one particular community, point to the sinister designs of the rightwing NDA government which will lead to further communal polarization and hostility
Not All Is Well With Urban Mothers In India
By Jayanthi A Pushkaran
As the hype of Mother’s Day settles down, its time to deal with reality: from the battered slums to chic offices, it is not an easy job being a mother in urban India. According to a global ranking of the best and worst places to be a mom, India held 140th place out of 179 countries in 2015. In Save the Children’s 2015 report titled “State of the World’s Mothers” India slips in motherhood index putting it behind Zimbabwe, Iraq and Bangladesh
Life-sentences were awarded to Chhatradhar Mahato, Sukhsanti Baske, Shambhu Soren,Sagun Murmu, Raja Sarkhel and Prasun Chatterjee. All six were arrested between September and October 2009 from Lalgarh and Kolkata on charges of being Maoists and for backing a Maoist front organization, People’s Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA) and charged under sections of the UAPA, Arms Act, Explosives Substances Act and IPC
12 May, 2015
A Development Fairytale Or A Global Land Rush?
By Karine Jacquemart and Anuradha Mittal
Karine Jacquemart, Forest Project Leader for Africa at Greenpeace International, and Anuradha Mittal Executive Director of the Oakland Institute, argue that the land rush unleashed around the world to own and exploit Earth's natural bounty is not only fierce and unfair, but increasingly fatal, with lands, homes and forests bulldozed and cleared for foreign investors and livelihoods shattered
In Defense Of The Commons
By Shalmali Guttal & Mary Ann Manahan
Shared access, reliance, use and governance of natural resources is a common form of tenure in the world, North and South, rural and urban. The specific rules and institutions that govern common property are very diverse, developed by communities groups on their own direct experience and reflecting their priorities. Where well managed, such systems have proven capable of preserving the long term health of the resources and sustained benefits to the community relying on them. Common spaces are under increasing threat – their resources are grabbed for private interests, mined and degraded for short term gains
Water Commons, Water Citizenship And Water Security
By Buenaventura Dargantes, Daniel Moss, Mary Ann Manahan & V. Suresh
The authors of these cases are public sector water operators and policy analysts, community activists and academics. The editors of this compilation are colleagues in the Reclaiming Public Water Network who have been working for some time to bring about greater democratization of water. We offer these cases to shine light on new ways forward as well as to invite your contributions to a growing understanding of how to govern and manage our shared water commons
To Mislead Critics, US Stages Fake “Public Feuds” With Anti-Democratic Partners
By Robert Barsocchini
That the US and its collaborators stage fake public feuds demonstrates once again that until specific documents or leaks come out, we really have no idea what games the serial killers in our government (which governs without our consent) are currently playing
The Nakba: Israel’s Catastrophe
By Vacy Vlazna
Today is Nakba Day, as was yesterday and all days back to the 1922 British Mandate with its broken legal obligations to hold Palestine in trust until independence. Daily, the zionist war crimes of illegal demolitions, evictions and squatting in Palestinian homes occur. The imposed torture of fear, stress and loss the Palestinian families is unimaginably cruel
"Farkhunda Is Our Sister" : A "Martyr," A Murder,
And The Making Of A New Afghanistan?
By Ann Jones
When Afghans bury their dead, they put a stone on the grave so that an occupant who tries to rise will bump into it and be reminded to keep still. But that Farkhunda, the Sister-Martyr, she will not stay put
Strategizing For Left Resurgence In India:
Keeping left Is Correct, Keeping Right Is Wrong
By S.G.Vombatkere
The sub-title certainly describes the motor traffic road rules, but some may say that it could also speak for ordinary people who are denied their constitutional rights of justice, liberty and equality. We therefore need to state what is meant by “Left” and “Right” in the Indian context
“Claims Of Complete Resettlement And Rehabilitation Of Sardar Sarovar Project Oustees Are Far From The Truth” : Central Fact Finding Committee
By National Alliance of People’s Movements
A central fact finding committee visited over 10 villages in the Narmada Valley which are affected by the Sardar Sarovar project, to find the current and actual ground situation of the project affected families, and extent of resettlement and rehabilitation and found that the government's “Claims Of Complete Resettlement And Rehabilitation Of Sardar Sarovar Project Oustees Are Far From The Truth”
11 May, 2015
European Powers Seek To Bomb Libya To Stop Migrants
By Patrick Martin
The European Union is preparing to bomb targets in Libya to stop migrants from attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea in small boats. EU foreign policy coordinator Federica Mogherini is to brief the United Nations Security Council Monday on plans for a “Chapter VII” resolution that would give a UN green light for the use of force
UK Election Aftermath: Cameron To Continue Waging War On Working People
By Colin Todhunter
Today in the UK, people are waking up to their first week of a five-year rule under a Conservative majority government. It’s been the first time the Tories have managed to form such a government since 1992. Only 37 percent of those who bothered to vote actually voted Conservative. In fact, the current administration is in government with 24 percent of support from all those who were eligible to vote
German Firestorm Rises About Angela Merkel's Lies
By Eric Zuesse
Starting on Friday May 8th, some German news media have been reporting on the release of previously secret emails from the office of the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. These emails make clear that when her underlings have said, ever since 2013, that the U.S. has promised to stop tapping the phones and other communications of Germans and even of the German Chancellor herself, no such promise had actually been received from anyone in the U.S. Administration of President Barack Obama. Instead, this claim from the Chancellor's office was being made simply in order for her to be able to win the 22 September 2013 parliamentary elections. It was contrary to fact. And it still is
War Threat Rises As Economy Declines
By Paul Craig Roberts
Paul Craig Roberts, Keynote Address to the Annual Conference of the Financial West Group, New Orleans, May 7, 2015
Seymour Hersh Succumbs To Disinformation
By Paul Craig Roberts
Hersh’s story does prove that the US government is a liar, but it does not prove that a SEAL team murdered Osama bin Laden
Obama, Osama bin-Laden And Lies By Government And Media
By Jon Kofas
Time will prove if the Hersh story is legitimate, if it is partially true, if it is even worse than he described it. For now, we are left with the Obama administration that came to office in 2009 with the pledge to end exactly the kind of practices he has been pursuing in foreign policy and in the process lying to the American people, as in the case of US drones killing of a US and Italian hostage in January 2015. This does not mean that the world will ever know a single version of what took place with Osama bin-Laden, the Pakistanis and the Americans, but a clearer picture will emerge at some point. Meanwhile, the foreign policy of destabilizing the Middle East, the foreign policy of contradictions, and the defense policy of outspending all rivals to maintain Pax American will continue until it brings the nation deeper in debt, economically weaker with a dwindling middle class in a country where the word democracy will not have much meaning
Russell Brand And The Currency Of Revolution
By Nozomi Hayase
The blockchain innovation has already opened the floodgates. The currency of revolution is showing that solutions to systematic abuse of power are within us. All we need to do is unite our will with what moves us from within and become the diverse currencies of our unfettered wishes and dreams
So, You Want A Clinton In The White House?
By Mickey Z.
Where were the simplistic Nazi references when Clinton blew up a Sudanese pharmaceutical plant to distract us from Monica Lewinsky? Where were the Hitler mustaches when Clinton bombed Iraq in response to an alleged plot to assassinate Bush the Elder and ended up killing Layla Al-Attar, that country’s best-known female artist?
Fostering Arab Springs To Civil And Sectarian Wars In The Middle East
By G. Asgar Mitha
If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed ―from the Adolf Hitler Book (2008). Remarkably Hitler's legacy is now applicable to the US, NATO friends, Israel and the Gulf Arab monarchies
Al Qaeda In Bangladesh: The Mythology And Pathology Of Terror
By Taj Hashmi
The propaganda about the presence of al Qaeda or its “India-based offshoots” like Ansarullah in Bangladesh is politically motivated. Although this sort of political propaganda seldom pays any political dividends (at least, not in Bangladesh), yet politicians are politicians! They never give up playing the game of mutual vilification. Portraying political opponents in Bangladesh – read arch enemies – as Indian or Pakistani agents, anti-Liberation, or even as agents of al Qaeda has been going on for decades
Murder Of A Young Girl In Moga: An Open Letter To Chief Minister Of Punjab
By Daljit Ami
The reason for writing this letter is the recent incident near Moga where a young girl was murdered when she was thrown out of a running bus. The victim's mother is lying injured in a hospital. Per newspapers and television reports,upon the statements by representatives of your government, the girl was a minor and was travelling with her mother and brother. There was an altercation between bus conductor and the mother over the bus fare and after that the employees,along with another accomplice,misbehaved with the mother and daughter. The employees and accomplice threw both mother and daughter off the bus. The daughter's corpse reached the hospital.The hospital admitted the mother for treatment. All this happened in daylight hours. In this letter we shall talk about this one murder, this one intent to murder, and the molestation. All of these have a direct relation with you
Sri Lanka: Deterioration Of The Legal Intellect (7):
Delays In Adjudication As A Manifestation Of Learned Helplessness
By Basil Fernando
A young man, then 18 years old, filed a communication on 28th January 2003, about an incident that took place on 18th April 2002. The UNHRC came to a finding on 14th July 2006. The UNHRC found that the Sri Lankan Government has violated the rights of the man by its failure to adjudicate the case without undue delay. The man is over 30 years old today. Sri Lanka has witnessed 4 governments since 2002. However, his case is still pending before the Sri Lankan courts
10 May, 2015
India's Koodankulam Nuclear Reactor Trips Again
By VT Padmanabhan & Dr Joseph Makolil
After working hard for 111 days since 18 Jan 2015, the Koodankulam reactor one, commissioned on 31 Dec 2014 went for a second 'trip' at 6.30 in the evening on 09 May 2015. Tripping of a nuclear power plant is an unusual event, a bad word which all the operators avoid to use. Worldwide, the modern reactors undergo one trip in about two years. Since its grid connection in October 2013, KK-1 had undergone 16 trips. Fourteen of those trips happened during the commissioning drill. The first trip after the commercial commissioning happened on 14th Jan 15 and it was reconnected on 18th Jan. This is the second trip during the first four months of operation
Latifah Anum Siregar Wins 2015 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights
The May 18 Memorial Foundation
The 2015 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights Committee has chosen Latifah Anum Siregar, a human-rights lawyer, as the recipient of the prize, for her peace movement in the conflict region of West Papua. The Committee also selected Sombath Somphone, the founder of Participatory Development Training Center, as the recipient of the 2015 Gwangju Prize fo Human Rights’ special prize
U.S. & Europe Boycott Russia's Celebration Of Its 9 May 1945 Victory Over Hitler
By Eric Zuesse
On 2 January 2015, the progressive Zeman — a passionate opponent of Hitler and of his Nazis and their nazism — courageously stated his intention to go to Moscow for its upcoming May 9th victory-over-Nazism celebration; but, on 8 April 2015, the Czech deputy prime minister, who leads a conservative party, caved to pressure from the U.S. Ambassador, and said that Zeman would have to do it at his own personal expense if at all; and, so, two days later, on April 10th, Zeman said that he wouldn't attend — the pressure from the U.S. was just too great
Shadows Of Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony And The Defeat Of
Nazi German Armies At The Gates Of Leningrad In WW II
By Gaither Stewart
Even though as a rule I prefer piano or violin concertos, Chopin or Tchaikovsky, or Bruch or Beethoven, nowadays I have become fanatic about the artist Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich’s magnificent Seventh Symphony, the Leningrad, dedicated to that great city on the River Neva at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea
Urban Slums: A Death Trap For Poor Children
By Valentina Ieri
It’s called the urban survival gap – fuelled by the growing inequality between rich and poor in both developing and developed countries – and it literally determines whether millions of infants will live or die before their fifth birthday. Save the Children’s annual report on the State of the World’s Mothers 2015 ranks 179 countries and concludes that that “for babies born in the big city, it’s the survival of the richest.”
Salman Khan Thamasha: Poor People Are In His Way
By Dr. Subramani Mani
Bollywood wants the poor people to spend their hard earned money and watch their movies and dance to the tune of their songs but the stars don’t want the people in their way when they drive their Mercedes Benzes, BMWs, Lexus SUVs or Rolls Royces on the road, pavement, park, shops or even into your homes if you are lucky to have one
Indian Media's Embarrassment In Nepal
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
The self- respecting people of Nepal need to be congratulated for compelling the jingoist brahmanical Indian media to ponder over its follies and idiocies in reporting the painful stories of earthquake from Nepal
Oppose The Re-Launch Of Salwa Judum In Chhattisgarh
By Coordinators of CDRO
CDRO (Coordination of Democratic Rights Organizations) expresses deep concern over recent reports regarding the re-launching of the notorious state-sponsored anti-Maoist militia, the Salwa Judum, from 25th May 2015
Chittoor Encounter Killings: Fact Finding Report
By People’s Watch
A team of human rights activists from People’s Watch (comprising of Ms. Palaniammal, Adv, Aseervatham and Mr. Senthil Raja accompanied by members of the Citizens for Human Rights Movement (CHRM) from Vellore, Thiruvannamalai, Dharmapuri and Namakkal Districts) immediately set out on 7th April itself, to conduct a preliminary fact finding into the incident. The Governments and concerned officials of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu were duly intimated about the same. During the fact finding mission, the People’s Watch team visited the scene of the alleged encounter, the concerned police stations, hospitals and post-mortem centres as well as the villages that the deceased victims belonged to and met with the family members of the victims. The findings of the fact finding team completely challenges the State’s claim of the alleged cutting down of red sanders tree and attack on policemen and foresters of the anti-smuggling task force
09 May, 2015
US Begins Training New “Rebel” Army For Operations In Syria
By Thomas Gaist
US soldiers have begun training some 100 Syrian fighters in a “secure location” in Jordan in preparation for military intervention in Syria, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter confirmed Thursday. Other contingents will soon begin training at camps run by the US military in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar, Carter said
World's Richest 80 People Own Same Amount As World's Bottom 50%
By Eric Zuesse
Oxfam's recent report, "WEALTH: HAVING IT ALL AND WANTING MORE” contains shocking figures that the press haven't sufficiently publicized; so, the findings and the reliability of their sources will be discussed here. The results will then be related to the central political debate now going on in the U.S. Presidential contests for 2016, which is about equality and inequality
Israel-Palestine: Speeding Up The Countdown To Catastrophe
By Alan Hart
At the time of writing I see no reason for optimism. And that’s why I believe my headline for this article is appropriate
VE Day 70th Anniversary, German Holocaust, Bengali Holocaust
And Global Avoidable Mortality Holocaust
By Dr Gideon Polya
8 May 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the end of WW2 in Europe. WW2 was associated with the killing of about 110 million people worldwide through violence or violently-imposed deprivation, but the killing continued with 9 million German deaths in the 1941-1950 German Holocaust and1.5 billion mainly non-European people dying avoidably from Western-imposed deprivation since 1950 in a continuing Global Avoidable Mortality Holocaust
A Thirst For Economic Change?
By Erik Alm
In the face of global resource shortages and the alarming rate at which we are losing species, many of us share the hope that J.S. Mill so ominously communicates in one of his better-known quotes. But what will it take to catalyze the shift to an economic state that respects our natural boundaries? Perhaps the catalyst could be a life-altering dearth of a critical resource that, until recently, most of us in the United States have taken for granted: water
Not A Fond-Tale From Post-Quake-Nepal
By Farooque Chowdhury
Affrighting assumptions and imaginations of an earthquake goes to sleep as time passes after the quake that hit Nepal last month. But scars of the earthquake are still there in the lives of thousands of people in Nepal as they are struggling in a system of insecurity, of which poverty is a part. These will live for indefinite period. It happens in poor societies overwhelmed with misgovernance with a façade of fairness
Shangal, The Land Of Legends In Chains
By Zanyar Omrani
Today I came across a sort of wild plant in a local bazaar in Dirik, a plant frequently seen in every corner of Shangal. Before heading toward Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan), I spent some days in the heart of Mesopotamia among endless legends. Here is Shangal, a city which has seen many previous assaults by jihadists, according to its people
O Susannah Won't You Cry For Me?
(One Day In The Life Of Michael And Alexander Smith)
By Charles Orloski
On July 22, 1995, Susan Smith was convicted of drowning her two sons, 3-year old Michael Daniel Smith and 14-month old Alexander Tyler Smith. Upon police questioning, she falsely testified that a “black man” carjacked her, and kidnapped children. At age 13, Susan Smith attempted suicide, and after graduating from high school in 1989, she made a second attempt to end her life. She married David Smith and gave birth to Michael and Alexander, but the relationship turned to hurricane, allegations of infidelity, and they separated several times. She is currently incarcerated at Leath Correctional Institution, Greenwood County, South Carolina. Come September 2, 1996, a family of seven people, including four children, came to see the spot where Susan Smith murdered her children. Their parked vehicle accidentally rolled into John D. Long Lake and the entire family astonishingly drowned
What Is Jihad?
By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Jihad is a fact of life. What is called ‘effort' or ‘struggle' in English is called ‘jihad' in Arabic. Jihad is not some mysterious thing. Nor is it synonymous with violence. It simply means making great efforts or striving for a particular purpose
"Slow But Steady Wins The Race": Lilawati
By Shobha Shukla
This is the inspirational story of Lilawati-a teacher cum farmer. The mother of 7 children—4 daughters and 3 sons, of whom one son died at the age of 25 years—66 years old Lilawati lives with her retired husband, 2 sons and their wives, a widowed daughter-in-law (who is a teacher) and 5 grandsons and 5 granddaughters. Lilawati, one of five siblings, lost her parents when she was very young. Her elder brother brought up the family. Lilawati could study only till Class 5 and was married off when she was just 15 years old
08 May, 2015
New Turkey-Saudi Strategy For Proxy War In Syria
By Countercurrents.org
To bring down Syrian president Bashar Assad, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have united with an aggressive new strategy for the on-going proxy war in Syria. The pact was sealed in early-March when Turkish president Erdogan flew to Riyadh to meet Saudi king Salman. The new virtual military alliance adds Saudi money to Turkey's logistical support. At the same time, Jordan is facing new complication with the proxy war
Where Gareth Porter Is On And Off In Explaining US Media Bias
On Saudi Aggression Against Yemen
By Robert Barsocchini
In an important new article, award-winning journalist Gareth Porter notes that US and Western media are using the term “proxy war” as “a way of softening the harsh reality of Saudi aggression” against Yemen
How The Media Misrepresent ‘Fast Track,' TPP & TTIP
By Eric Zuesse
Both conservative and liberal ‘news' media misrepresent U.S. President Barack Obama's proposed international trade-deals as if they were about only such things as lowering tariffs and reducing national trade-protectionism — which are relatively minor surface-features of these huge proposed treaties: TTIP with Europe, TPP with Asia, and TISA (Trade in Services Agreement). All of these proposed Obama trade-deals are actually about transferring to panels of international corporations the powers that currently reside in the various individual nations' regulatory and legal authorities
V-Day: Russia's Perpetual Fight Against Fascism
By Andre Vltchek
70 years since the great Victory! 70 years since Soviet people saved the world by smashing Nazism. 70 years since they, almost immediately, joined yet another fight, against Western imperialism and colonialism. 20 or perhaps 27 million Soviet people, mainly Russians, lost their lives defending our planet against Hitler's hordes. Then hundreds of millions of others dedicated their lives to building a much better, and egalitarian world. Without Soviet Union, without the Russian people, there would be no freedom, no independence for Asian, African and the Middle Eastern countries. There would be no revolutions possible in Latin America
Remembering A Magnum Crimen In The Independent State Of Croatia, 1941−1945
By Vladislav B. Sotirović
The most important post-April War creation on the territory of ex-Kingdom of Yugoslavia was an Independent State of Croatia that was officially proclaimed on April 10th, 1941. It was composed by Croatia, Slavonia, parts of Dalmatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and the East Srem (today in Serbia). The official name of the state was Neovisnadržava Hrvatska (theNDH) with a capital in Zagreb. In the attempt to solve the Serb Question westward the Drina River, the Ustashi government established a network of death camps among all Jasenovac (a Yugoslav Auschwitz) nearby the Sava River on the very border with Bosnia-Herzegovina became the most infamous in which perished around 700,000 people among them 500,000 the Serbs
100 Years Of Armenian Genocide
By Sazzad Hussain
Armenians diaspora has been campaigning for international recognition of the 1915 genocide in the last one hundred years. Paraguay became the first country to recognize this in 1965 and presently sixteen nations including Russia, France, EU, the Vatican have recognized the Armenian genocide. The US, Britain and China is yet to recognize it and Israel dropped the Armenian genocide from the list of other such incidents while it hosted the International Conference on Genocide in 1982. India, which has Armenian connection since the reign of Akbar is yet to recognize it. Notably, it is Lebanon, the only Arab and Muslim majority state that has recognized the Armenian genocide in 1997
The Power And Symbolism Of Voting
By William John Cox
What does the Boston Tea Party and Gandhi's Salt March have to do with voting in the United States today? These were symbolic political acts that were effectively used to demonstrate against and defeat the same kind of powerful forces now corrupting American politics
The Clintons and Their Banker Friends: The Wall Street Connection (1992 To 2016)
By Nomi Prins
This piece has been adapted and updated by Nomi Prins from chapters 18 and 19 of her book "All the Presidents' Bankers: The Hidden Alliances that Drive American Power"
Dangerous Flailing And Bellowing Of The Beast
By John Chuckman
When I think of America’s place in the world today, the image that comes to mind is of a very large animal, perhaps a huge bull elephant or even prehistoric mammoth, which long roamed as the unchallenged king of its domain but has become trapped by its own missteps, as caught in a tar pit or some quicksand, and it is violently flailing about, making a terrifying noises in its effort to free itself and re-establish its authority. Any observer immediately knows the animal ultimately cannot succeed but certainly is frightened by the noise and crashing that it can sustain for a considerable time
Survival Of The Weakest
By Sukumaran C. V.
Violence against women and violence against the Earth, legitimated and promoted by both patriarchal religion and science, are interconnected assaults rooted in the eroticization of domination. The gynocidal culture’s image of woman as object and victim is paralleled by contemporary representations that continually show the Earth as a toy, machine, or violated object, as well as by the religious and scientific ideology that legitimates the possession, contamination, and destruction of Mother Earth
Farmers’ Struggles At Battleground Peripheries
By T Venkateshwarlu
The parties and organizations have to revisit their approach and understand the severity of the problems of the farmers. These problems are the result of capital intervening in the agriculture sector. Apart from struggles against ‘Land Acquisition Bill, 2014’ they have to wage struggles on major problems of the farmers. This initiative is require a lot to end the lakhs of farmers’ suicides across the country for the last three decades
Bhakti-Sufi Traditions: Uniting Humanity
By Ram Puniyani
Keeping the relation between state, politics and religion apart, it is interesting that some traditions within religion have appeals cutting across the religious boundaries. The Sufi and Bhakti tradition in Pakistan-India, South Asia are two such humane trends from within Islam and Hinduism respectively, which harp more on unity of humanity as a whole overcoming the sectarian divides. The saints from these traditions had appeal amongst people of different religions and they were away from the centers of power, unlike the clergy which was close ally of the rulers in medieval times
Bollywood’s [Re]presentation of ‘Kashmir’ And ‘Kashmiri’:
From Romance (Kashmir Ki Kali) To Tragedy (Haider)
By Dr. M Ashraf Bhat
The realist cinema, like naked art is always disturbing, and Haider being realistic is mainly because it engaged a well-informed insider, Basharat Peer, to frame its screenplay. Apart from the controversies, it is essential to understand what ‘Haider’ offers different from the Bollywood’s earlier discourses depicting Kashmir
The Essay By A Brown Cow
Communicated By Abdul Majid Zargar
Thank God, a cow, brown in color (Kachir gaw in vernacular) has now made her entry into an institution of higher learning. Preparing hard for her ensuing examinations she, as a preparatory exercise, was asked to pen down an essay about Kashmiri politicians. Protected by all types of laws at national & State level, she was instructed to write truth and call spade a spade without any fear of censure or admonishment. Here is her essay
07 May, 2015
Global Carbon Levels Surpassed 400 ppm For Entire Month
By Sarah Lazare
Marking yet another grim milestone for an ever-warming planet, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration revealed on Wednesday that, for the first time in recorded history, global levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere averaged over 400 parts per million (ppm) for an entire month—in March 2015
Record Number Of Internally Displaced People Globally In 2014
By Niles Williamson
According to a report issued by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) on Wednesday, a record 38 million people in 60 countries were displaced by ongoing conflicts from their homes within the borders of their own country through the end of 2014. They comprise the vast majority of the more than 50 million classified as refugees
Indian Subcontinent-Mystery: Rapid Move Toward Eurasia
80 Million Years Ago Explained
By Countercurrents.org
In the history of continental drift, Indian Subcontinent has been a mysterious record-holder. Now, scientists have explained the mystery. It was plates pulling the land mass and the plates were acting based on other forces. New questions have risen also
Lampedusa: L'Isola Bella's Shadow Of Death
By Conor Fortune
Given Lampedusa’s location – around 70 nautical miles from Tunisia, between Libya and the Italian mainland – it sits astride Europe’s busiest sea migration route. People fleeing armed conflict, persecution and other hardship in sub-Saharan Africa, Syria, Palestine, and elsewhere are in ever greater numbers entrusting their lives to ruthless people-smugglers in an attempt to reach Europe. In 2014, more than 170,000 people arrived on Italy’s shores. The same year, around 3,500 died – from drowning, hypothermia and other causes – or disappeared at sea, making this the world’s deadliest sea crossing. The first few months of 2015 have seen a 100-fold increase in deaths at sea, compared to the same period last year
NZ Super-Annuitants Profit From Gaza Children's Agony
By Vacy Vlazna
The shocking decision by the government-owned New Zealand Super Fund (NZSF) to NOT divest from Israel Chemicals Ltd (ICL), manufacturer of white phosphorus, blatantly violates the NZSF Responsibilities
06 May, 2015
Attack On Greenpeace IndiaIs An Attack On Free Speech
By Asian Human Rights Commission
The announcement by Greenpeace India of its imminent shutdown is saddening. However, it was only a matter of time. How long could the organization have continued running with its bank accounts frozen and with a ban on foreign funds? That this has happened after the Delhi High Court’s judgments in two cases related to the government’s crackdown on Greenpeace India is telling on how the Modi government views dissenting voices in India
US-Jordan War Games Prepare Wider Mideast Conflict
By Patrick Martin
Some ten thousand troops began military exercises in Jordan on Tuesday, in the fifth annual “Eager Lion” war games led by the Pentagon. The drills are in preparation for a greatly expanded military conflict in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East
UN Lawyer Calls TTP & TTIP ‘A Dystopian Future In Which Corporations
And Not Democratically Elected Governments Call The Shots'
By Eric Zuesse
The Obama-proposed international-trade deals, if passed into law, will lead to "a dystopian future in which corporations and not democratically elected governments call the shots,” says Alfred De Zayas, the UN's Special Rapporteur on Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order
Body Counts, Drones, And “Collateral Damage” (aka “Bug Splat”)
By Tom Engelhardt
In the twenty-first-century world of drone warfare, one question with two aspects reigns supreme: Who counts? In Washington, the answers are the same: We don't count and they don't count
Birzeit Wins Again: Students Of The West Bank Unite
By Ramzy Baroud
As a member of a past generation at Birzeit, I would like to take my hat, or red kuffiyeh off, and tell the students of Birzeit, Najah, al-Quds, Bethlehem and elsewhere: Please finish the job we started. Democracy is your vehicle and the freedom of your people should always be your ultimate goal
Peace Lessons: How To Reduce Violence
By Robert J. Burrowes
If you are interested in learning more about the meaning of, and the relationships among, direct, structural and cultural violence and how one peace studies scholar suggests we use the integrative power of nonviolence to address violence constructively, then I suggest you read the new book by historian, playwright and novelist Professor Timothy Braatz called 'Peace Lessons'
Big Wine Blasted At North Coast California Gathering
By Shepherd Bliss
In the heart of what corporate wine industry lobbyists have re-branded “Wine Country,” activists from four North Coast California counties gathered in early May for their third monthly meeting. They created a regional network of groups from Sonoma, Napa, Lake, and Mendocino counties
The Wretched Plight Of The Kashmiri Youth
By Ummer Wani
It is high time for the power-holders of our society to have a sympathetic eye to the problems of the youth and extricate them from the maze of frustration. Let the power-holders of our society realize that somewhere in our society there are these young minds melting under the heat of frustration. They are tired…tired of their hanging status. They are waiting for the air of freedom and peace to set them free from the chains of frustration. Let that air come, let our youth bloom again under the freeze of freshness
India's Ph.D Conundrum
By Panchendra Kumar Naik
This article is attempted to deconstruct recent Parliamentary Committee’s remarks on ‘quality and suitability’ of Ph.D. holders in India
Appointment Of Justice Sathasivam Will Compromise
Autonomous Status Of NHRC Says PUCL
By PUCL
Do not appoint Justice Sathasivam as Chairperson of NHRC: PUCL writes to the President of India
05 May, 2015
Greenpeace India Faces Imminent Shutdown
By Colin Todhunter
The Executive Director of Greenpeace India, Samit Aich, today addressed his staff to prepare them for the imminent shutdown of the organization after 14 years in the country. He said: “I just made one of the hardest speeches of my life, but my staff deserve to know the truth. We have one month left to save Greenpeace India from complete shutdown, and to fight MHA’s [Ministry of Home Affairs] indefensible decision to block our domestic accounts.” Greenpeace India has one month left to fight for its survival with the threat of an imminent shutdown looming large. The NGO has been left with funds for staff salaries and office costs that will last for just about a month
US Warplanes Kill Dozens Of Civilians In Syria
By Patrick Martin
US airstrikes in Syria killed dozens of civilians in a predominately Arab-populated village in the eastern part of Aleppo province Friday. The death toll was still rising as more bodies were found and missing family members were accounted for
Nepal: Two Large Quakes In Short Time Span, One After Another Is Rare
By Deepak Chamlagain
Rumors still swirl of another impending big quake. There is no need to panic, cautions Deepak Chamlagain, a seismologist who has been researching earthquakes in the Himalayan region for close to 15 years. Pranaya SJB Rana spoke to Chamlagain, who was resident disaster management expert at the New Delhi-based SAARC Disaster Management Centre, about the possibilities of another big quake striking soon, the implications of the continuing aftershocks, and the preparatory measures we need to take for the future
European Biofuel Bubble Bursts
By Sean Buchanan
Ten years of debate in the European Union over the detrimental effects of the demand for biofuels for transport on food prices, hunger, forest destruction, land consumption and climate change have come to an end. The European Parliament finally agreed new E.U. laws on Apr. 28 to limit the use of crop-based biofuels, setting a limit on the quantity of biofuels that can be used to meet E.U. energy targets
Major Media Keep Propagandizing For Hillary Clinton
By Eric Zuesse
Big Media's real audience isn't the public who think they are receiving journalism instead of mere propaganda; it's instead the aristocracy who control the ‘news' media
Russia, Ukraine And The West: In Defence Of History Against Falsification
By Mike Faulkner
One does not need to be an admirer of Vladimir Putin to recognize that his stand in confronting the Western powers and NATO over Crimea and Ukraine is justified. A few relevant facts, readily available but seldom mentioned in the mainstream media, are worth recording
Only 8% Of The Projects Stalled Due To Land Acquisition Problems
By Venkatesh Nayak
A new RTI reply from the Government of India has revealed that only only 8% (66 nos.) of the 804 projects are said to have stalled due to land acquisition problems
Deconstructing The Unreal Ambedkar
By Anand Teltumbde
If the number of statues, memorabilia, pictures and posters; songs and ballads, books and pamphlets, or the size of congregations in memory were the parameters to measure greatness, there may not be any other great in history who can rival Babasaheb Ambedkar. Newer and newer places and events are getting added to the list of his memorials where ever growing congregations take place every passing year. He has been such a phenomenon that after a while it would be difficult for people to believe that such a person who had to struggle to drink water from a public water source, open for cats and dogs, ever walked on this planet. Even the gods in heaven, if they exist, would be jealous of him. What might be behind this miracle?
Iran Is Falling To A Nuclear Agreement Trap
By Akbar E. Torbat
As it appears, using the strategy of coercive diplomacy, the US and EU have been successful to force the clerics in Tehran to dismantle the vital parts of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. Coercive diplomacy possesses three elements, a demand, a threat, and time pressure. To apply this strategy, the US and EU have imposed a set of economic sanctions along with threats of force while negotiating to dismantle Iran’s nuclear facilities by an urgent deadline
The Baltimore Uprising And The U.S. Government's Record On Human Rights
By Matt Peppe
Freddie Gray has become a martyr for the suffering he endured throughout his life at the hands of the social, economic, and political system he lived under, rather than just for his suffering at the hands of the six police officers who ended his life. The Baltimore uprising will not end with the verdicts against the six officers. It will only end when the people of Baltimore and cities across the U.S. are able to hold the people who design the policies that deprive them of their fundamental human rights accountable
Stop False Arrest Of Adivasis And Threats
To Rights’ Activists And Lawyers In Chattisgarh
By People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR)
PUDR strongly condemns IG Bastar, SRP Kalluri’s threat of taking severe action against certain NGOs in Chhattisgarh for allegedly aiding and abetting the Maoists under the guise of helping Adivasis. At a recent Press Conference he said that many such organisations were already under surveillance. The IG‘s list of suspicious activities included providing legal assistance to ‘Naxalites’ – a thinly veiled reference to the Jagdalpur Legal Aid Group (JagLAG), a small NGO active in Bastar since 2013, that provides legal aid to Adivasis many of whom are falsely implicated in cases of Naxal activities
Pamela Geller - America's New Isamophobic "Acid Queen"
By Ludwig Watzal
Pamela Geller thinks to "heal" American society with her Islamophobic hate speeches and her anti-Muslim events like that in Garland, Texas, in order to make it prone to more wars against "Islamism". The best anti-Muslim cartoon was priced 10,000 US-Dollars
04 May, 2015
Saudi Bombers Using Banned, US-Made Cluster Bombs In Yemen
By Robert Barsocchini
Now we know what has become of the thousands of banned cluster bombs Obama shipped to Saudi Arabia in 2013.US-based group Human Rights Watch said in a statement "Yemen: Saudi-Led Airstrikes Used Cluster Munitions" -Credible evidence indicates that the Saudi-led coalition used banned cluster munitions supplied by the United States in airstrikes against Houthi forces in Yemen… US-coordinated and assisted Wahhabi bombings using cluster and other weapons “have been hitting areas near villages” HRW said, adding that cluster bombs: …should never be used under any circumstances. Saudi Arabia and other coalition members – and the supplier, the US – are flouting the global standard that rejects cluster munitions because of their long-term threat to civilians
Devastated Nepal Receives Tuna Fish And Mayonnaise
While It Needs Grain Salt Sugar And Tents
By Countercurrents.org
Along with slow pace of relief operation, lack of helicopters and coordination, and rising death toll in the earthquake devastated Nepal a mockery in aid response has got unearthed: Tuna fish and mayonnaise have been delivered while the devastated rice producing people need grain, salt and sugar
Climate Change – Too Late To Halt?
By Sanjeev Ghotge
Rusbridger and the Guardian are exceptions to the rule, most of the world media are busy projecting that there is a carbon budget available before the 2 deg C threshold is breached. This belief is contrary to what the science has been saying for a long time now
Palestine Faces Grave Climate Threat, But Lacks Voice At UN Talks
By Ed King
Few conflicts generate as much heat and rage as the ongoing tussle between Israel and Palestine. Peace appears as far away as ever, after the recent collapse of US-led talks, and the 2014 Gaza war. The two nations face an added, unseen and growing threat – that could heighten tensions yet further. Rising global temperatures are likely to make drought in the region more common, a UN panel of scientists reported in 2014
Steady State Socialism
By Alan Johnstone
Competition for the appropriation of world profits is one of the bases of the present system. So it is not “Humans” but the capitalist economic system itself which is responsible for ecological problems and the capitalist class and their representatives, they themselves are subject to the laws of profit and competition
Police Caught In Lies, Charged With Murder, Homicide In Freddie Gray Killing
By Robert Barsocchini
The day after WaPo issued its police-sourced “quote” from the prisoner who shared the van with Gray, Business Insider released a report from the same prisoner, Allen, who says that the Baltimore police and Washington Post misquoted him, and he didn’t say Gray was trying to hurt himself. “…why the [expletive] would he do that to himself?” Allen said to Business Insider. Indeed, the Medical Examiner’s report has now been released, and has determined that “Mr. Gray’s death was a homicide”
The Violence That Created Baltimore
By Mickey Z.
The violence in Baltimore didn't begin with the Blue Bloc murder of Freddie Gray. The United States is built on and based on and functions on overt and covert violence. Any discussion of violence, non-violence, and social justice that ignores this reality is an exercise in deep denial
Britain, Libya And The Mediterranean: The Creation Of A Humanitarian Emergency
By Dan Glazebrook
Last week’s drownings in the Mediterranean were the foreseeable, and indeed deliberate, result of the anti-human policies of strategic violence by a dying neo-colonial empire. They were the consequence, firstly, of a series of wars of aggression that have made life intolerable across vast swathes of Africa and West Asia, and secondly of the fateful EU decision last November to end Italy’s search-and-rescue programme, Mare Nostrum
Australia Trashes Free Speech – SBS Sacks
Journalist Scott McIntyre Over Anti-War Tweets
By Dr Gideon Polya
Free speech has been trashed in jingoistic, pro-war , US lackey Australia. Scott McIntyre, a courageous young sports journalist with Australia's substantially taxpayer-funded, multicultural Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), was sacked after he tweeted a succession of truthful anti-war comments on Anzac Day (Australia's war dead remembrance day). Only a few, notably John Pilger, came to his defence, and the rest was silence or strong condemnation of McIntyre
Mad British Colonialist Legacy And The Hidden Tears of Punjab
By Andre Vltchek
The British Empire was actually based on enforcing full submission and obedience on its local subjects, in all corners of the world; it was based on fear and terror, on disinformation, propaganda, supremacist concepts, and on shameless collaboration of the local “elites”. “Law and order” was maintained by using torture and extra-judiciary executions, “divide and rule” strategies, and by building countless prisons and concentration camps
Unmasking The GMO Humanitarian Narrative
By Colin Todhunter
The pro-GMO lobby is fond of trying to discredit its critics and engages in pious, emotive rhetoric. They often ask them: ‘What are you doing to save the lives of millions?’ The question for them is: What are you?
Sri Lanka Deterioration Of The legal intellect (6):
Pattini Razeek's Body Buried Within A Half Built Private House
By Basil Fernando
The discovery of the body of Pattini Razeek buried under a half-built private house, in a remote village on Uddamaveli, in Valaichchenai, would have flared up the imagination of any detective. However, despite of the discovery on 28th July 2010, the case itself, remained buried till to date
What Happens When Tribal Women Manage India’s Forests?
By Manipadma Jena
Unfolding out of sight and out of mind of India’s policy-making nucleus in the capital, New Delhi, this quiet drama – involving the 275 million people who reside in or on the fringes of the country’s bountiful forests – could be the defining struggle of the century. At the forefront of the movement are tribal communities in states like Odisha who are determined to make full use of a 2012 amendment to India’s Forest Rights Act (FRA) to claim titles to their land, on which they can carve out a simple life, and a sustainable future for their children
Bol ke Labb Aazad Hein Tere – Speak For You Must, You Are Free To Speak
By Shalu Nigam
‘Ban culture’ surpasses literature, art forms including paintings and music, movies and even television channels. It is evident in day to day lives. Making a comment on social media, or even issues as trivial as `raising voice’ or `shouting’. are not tolerated. Often, control and domination are the major devices used by the authoritarian and totalitarian regimes to limit people’s right to express freely. In the context of South Asia, these hold meaning in historical, socio-economic, religious and political context
Of Jammu And Kashmir Professional Board For Entrance Examination
Issuing Admit Card To A Cow
By Dr. Fayaz Ahmad Bhat
Jammu Kashmir State Board for Professional Entrance Examinations has issued an admit card to a cow with the signature of the Chairman on it. This reflects the sorry state of affairs of education, government and Administration in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The following write up attempts to make humor out of it
Natural Calamities: Wrath Of God or Human Error
By S Darapuri
In the present time, being a Third World Country there is a need to save our natural and human resources from all kinds of destruction. There is a need to draw out clear cut plan to save the country from natural and manmade calamities. Science and Technology should be directed to produce devices that avert recurrent disasters, if not avert, atleast alert the people at the right time
01 May, 2015
Towns And Villages Totally Devastated And 90%
Clinics And Schools Are Unusable In Nepal
By Countercurrents.org
With further rise in death toll, devastation of thousands of villages and slow pace of rescue and relief operations the survivors in Nepal earthquake are facing a desperate situation. In areas, towns and villages suffered total devastation. Today, a report said some 600,000 houses have been destroyed in 13 districts
Invest in Activism, Not Bernie Sanders
By David Swanson
So, here I am in the role of "that jerk" telling Bernie Sanders fanatics that it's hopeless -- a self-fulfilling prophecy of doom if ever there was one. But we have limited time, energy, and money. I don't think saving the planet is hopeless. I just think the best place to put our resources is into uncorrupted, principled, policy-driven, nonviolent, creative activism -- including the activism needed to create fair, open, verifiable elections
Salute The Nation That Brought The US Empire To Its Knees
By Kenny Coyle
On the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, April 30, 2015, the momentous events that made it possible are recalled
The May 2nd Odessa Massacre: Why Obama's Coup-Regime Still Runs Ukraine
By Eric Zuesse
The May 2nd Ukrainian massacre of anti-regime pamphleteers last year at the Odessa Trade Unions Building, burning these pamphleteers alive there, was crucial to the Obama Administration's solidification of its control over Ukraine. That massacre was designed to, and it did, terrorize the residents in all areas of Ukraine which had voted overwhelmingly for the man whom Obama had just ousted, Viktor Yanukovych. Especially in the Donbass region, Yanokovych had received 90%+ of the votes. In Odessa, he had received three-quarters of the votes
A Time Will Come, Muslims In India Will Have To Form
Their Own National Party: Kancha Ilaiah
Interview By Ajmal Khan & Anish
Professor Kancha Ilaiah had well predicted that Narendra Modi would become the next prime minister under BJP, and he has also been instrumental in raising criticism on how Indian left failed to understand the caste question. After the parliament elections, he described how the caste equations has been used in the country by BJP . As soon as BJP came into power, many decisions have already been taken by the ruling Government, which will make far reaching consequences on the lives of Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims and Bahujans. In this context, Ajmal Khan and Anish are engage in conversation with Kancha Ilaiah on contemporary politics in India, particularly on Muslim, Dalit and Bahujan politics. He argues, that Muslims will have to form their own national party or a national coalition of all the Muslim parties by retaining their political and social identity
United States Commission On International Religious Freedom
Places India On Tier 2 List Of Countries
By Shehzad Poonawalla
Although the Modi government has responded by stating that it "does not take cognisance of such reports", it is a fact that world over, the stifling of religious freedoms in India is becoming a debate and is reflecting badly upon us as a plural, liberal democracy. Hence, authorities including the courts, investigative agencies, statutory bodies like National Commission for Minorities and National Human Rights Commission and the Ministry of Home Affairs must treat every case of religious atrocity and discrimination with seriousness so that no country or international agency can point fingers upon a vibrant democracy like ours. Mr.Modi's government must walk the talk on 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas'
Illusory Superiority, Related Psychological Phenomena,
And The Importance Of Cross-Cultural Exposure
By Robert Barsocchini
In addition to direct conflicts of interest inherent in the structure and functioning of media, the following psychological phenomena underscore the importance, in terms of approaching truth, of reading and researching on as broad a spectrum and as cross-culturally as possible. People creating and disseminating narratives in any one society or larger group (ie “the west”), are subject to these features of human psychology; to claim or believe they are not is merely to exhibit them
Mediterranean Catastrophes: Time That The People Of Europe Stood Up
By Chandra Muzaffar
The people of Europe some of whom have been deeply moved by the 18th April catastrophe should demand that their governments cease to support a hegemonic power on the other side of the Atlantic or participate in hegemonic adventures that bring death to so many and cause so much pain and misery to their fellow human beings
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